11:27 AM EDT, 10/22/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Apple ( AAPL ) is expected to report better-than-projected fiscal Q4 results, led by the late-cycle strength in iPhone 15, while fiscal Q1 guidance may trail estimates, Morgan Stanley said Tuesday in a report.

The technology giant is scheduled to report Q4 results Oct. 31. Morgan Stanley projects earnings at $1.65 a share on revenue of $96.3 billion, compared with Wall Street's estimates of EPS at $1.59 a share on revenue of $94.3 billion.

Morgan Stanley boosted its estimate for Q4 iPhone shipments to 55 million units from 52.5 million with the market consensus at 50 million units.

In Q1, Morgan Stanley expects EPS of $2.36 on revenue of $125.3 billion versus the market consensus for EPS of $2.38 on revenue of $127.8 billion.

"We have not heard of any iPhone build cuts in our checks, but after a month of tracking iPhone 16 demand indicators, we'd characterize iPhone demand as mixed," Morgan Stanley said. "Historically, amidst mixed demand, iPhone builds are cut by [3 million] units, on average, in the December quarter, which is exactly what we are embedding in our updated forecast."

The firm maintained its overweight rating on the Apple ( AAPL ) stock with a $273 price target.

Apple ( AAPL ) shares fell 0.9% in recent trading Tuesday.

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