Apple to Pay $490 Million to Shareholders in Lawsuit Settlement

Apple has agreed to pay $490 million to shareholders who sued the company over claims that executives misled them about business in China. The lawsuit, filed in 2018, accused Apple, particularly CEO Tim Cook, of downplaying the impact of the slowdown in China’s economy on the company’s business.

After approximately five years of legal proceedings, Apple has reached a settlement with shareholders to pay a total of $490 million. The agreement, which was submitted on Friday, is pending approval from a federal judge in Oakland. A hearing to approve the agreement has been postponed to April 30.

In response to the lawsuit, CEO Tim Cook had initially stated in 2018 that while there was pressure on sales in some developing countries, he would not categorize China in the same way. However, recent data from Counterpoint Research shows that iPhone sales in China have declined by 24 percent in the first 6 weeks of 2024. The iPhone has also dropped to the fourth position among the best-selling phones in the Chinese market.

China, with its population of over 1.2 billion, remains an important market for Apple, which produces iPhones in Foxconn factories in the country. Despite the challenges in the Chinese market, Apple has agreed to compensate shareholders and settle the lawsuit. The final approval of the settlement is expected to be granted by the federal judge in the coming weeks.

 

This message was taken from this source and rewritten by artificial intelligence.