This is an archive article published on March 15, 2024

Apple reaches $490 million settlement over CEO Tim Cook’s China sales comments

The settlement covers investors who bought Apple shares in the two months between Cook's comments and the revenue forecast.

Tim Cook had told investors on an Nov 1, 2018, analyst call that although Apple faced sales pressure in markets such as Brazil, India, Russia and Turkey, where currencies had weakened, "I would not put China in that category." (Express file photo)

By: Reuters

2 min readMar 15, 2024 08:56 PM IST First published on: Mar 15, 2024 at 08:56 PM IST

Apple agreed to pay $490 million to settle a class-action lawsuit that alleged Chief Executive Tim Cook defrauded shareholders by concealing falling demand for iPhones in China.

A preliminary settlement was filed on Friday with the US District Court in Oakland, California, and requires approval by US District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers.

It stemmed from Apple’s unexpected announcement on Jan 2, 2019 that the iPhone maker would slash its quarterly revenue forecast by up to $9 billion, blaming US-China trade tensions.

Cook had told investors on an Nov 1, 2018, analyst call that although Apple faced sales pressure in markets such as Brazil, India, Russia and Turkey, where currencies had weakened, “I would not put China in that category.”