Regarding reports from the media this week, $Apple (AAPL.US)$ The plan is to achieve "more than 60 million iPhones sold annually in the USA, all supplied by India, by the end of 2026." Well-known Analyst Craig Moffett stated that this idea is unrealistic.

As background, Moffett has been awarded the annual top analyst award from Institutional Investor in the USA 15 times during his analyst career and is currently the co-founder of the stock research firm MoffettNathanson.

In a memo sent to clients on Friday, Moffett questioned this strategy of relocating assembly plants.

Moffett emphasized that the Global trade war is a "two-front battle," affecting both costs and sales; relocating assembly operations to India may (emphasis on "may") alleviate the former, but the latter could be the bigger issue.

He also questioned whether simply transferring assembly operations to India could resolve tariff issues, as iPhone components still need to be manufactured in China, and for the foreseeable future, Apple's supply chain will remain rooted in China.

This week, Moffett lowered Apple's target price from $184 per share to $141, implying a 33% drop from Friday's closing price. This is also the lowest target price recorded for Apple in the FactSet database. Since January 7 of this year, Moffett has maintained a "Sell" rating on Apple, with the stock price declining approximately 14% since January.

Moffett emphasized: "I don't consider myself the biggest bear on Apple; I have quite a high evaluation of Apple. My concerns are more about its valuation rather than the company itself."

He further explained that Apple is not a bad company; they still have a strong balance sheet and an excellent consumer brand. But the reality is, Apple is a product company, and when products will face significant tariff increases and enter a market where consumer demand will at least slow down due to macroeconomic reasons, there are indeed no good solutions.

Moffett also pointed out that mobile operators will not help Apple mitigate tariff impacts. This week, US mobile operators AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile all stated that they would not absorb the additional costs brought about by phone tariffs. He believes: "Consumers will have to bear the cost. Therefore, you will see demand destruction manifested in longer phone holding periods and slower replacement frequencies—all of which could undermine the consensus on market expectations for next year."

He also noted that besides US consumers being financially constrained, Chinese consumers will also have a different view of Apple phones due to US tariff policies. Moffett emphasized: "This is a very real issue; sales are genuinely flowing to local competitors like Huawei and vivo, rather than Apple."