The price increases of Apple and Microsoft continue to gain momentum—what new perspectives does Wall Street have?

Question

Mars Finance News, June 28 - Apple and Microsoft recently announced price increases for their hardware products, passing on the cost pressure of AI-driven memory/storage chips to consumers, and market sentiment quickly turned to "fear of demand destruction."
Apple's stock once fell more than 5-6%, and memory stocks were temporarily boosted by Micron's better-than-expected financial report, but overall tech stocks are under pressure. Details of the price increases are as follows:
· Apple: Raised prices for multiple MacBook, iPad and other products, with increases ranging from 15% to 25% (some up by $100-$300), stating that it can no longer continue to "protect consumers." Tim Cook had previously warned costs were "unsustainable." iPhones are not affected for now.
· Microsoft: Xbox consoles will see price increases from August 1, with the 512GB version rising by $100 and the 1TB version by $150, and the 2TB version will be discontinued, also attributed to the surge in storage costs (which have more than doubled by 2.5 times).
Micron's financial report shows that AI storage demand remains strong, but terminal price increases have shifted the market from "upstream benefits" to "downstream pressure." The market worries that if high costs continue to squeeze consumers and application ends, it may backfire on demand. The latest views from Wall Street are:
· Morgan Stanley says Apple's loyal user base and financing options will buffer the impact, with limited effect on demand, maintaining an Overweight rating;
· JPMorgan points out that the price increase exceeds expectations, but the market's impact on costs is somewhat exaggerated. Apple's vertical integration can effectively hedge, and it remains bullish in the long term;
· Evercore analyst Amit Daryanani points out that this "within-cycle" price increase exceeds expectations, showing that the speed and scale of memory inflation have exceeded Apple's absorption capacity, but emphasizes that this is a common industry issue;
· Other views (such as Forrester analysts) believe that Apple's brand loyalty is high and consumers can "bear it"; but they also warn that the entire consumer electronics chain faces an "AI cost tax." Barron's and others point out that suppliers cannot be entirely blamed, as terminal manufacturers themselves are under pressure. Overall, Wall Street mostly believes that short-term stock prices are under pressure, but long-term confidence in the core fundamentals of Apple and others has not been shaken. As long as demand does not collapse significantly, the upstream storage logic remains valid.
Supply chain variables: The feud between Apple and memory giants is emerging. Apple is lobbying the Trump administration to approve the procurement of DRAM chips from China's ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT) to alleviate cost pressure and respond to competition in the Chinese market. CXMT's production capacity is tilting toward HBM, potentially making it one of the biggest potential winners in this round. The price increase tests consumer acceptance and the resilience of the AI chain.
If demand does not collapse significantly, the storage logic remains valid; otherwise, it faces the risk of backlash. China's alternative production capacity is ushering in new opportunities. This event is still unfolding, and subsequent financial report guidance deserves close attention.

The price increases of Apple and Microsoft continue to gain momentum—what new perspectives does Wall Street have?

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