"Apple" to Pay $490 Million to Shareholders

The management of "Apple" has reached a settlement agreement with several of its shareholders, requiring it to pay hundreds of millions of dollars after being pursued in court for allegedly making misleading statements about its operations in China in 2018. A federal judge in Oakland, California, must approve the deal, which stipulates that the management will pay the plaintiffs $490 million. This resolution comes five years after the legal dispute began, with the first summons to court occurring in April 2019. Shareholders had criticized the executives of the "Apple" group, particularly its CEO Tim Cook, for stating in November 2018 that the company's activities in China were still strong, despite signs of a slowdown. At that time, "Apple" was facing a slowdown in the Chinese economy as well as tensions between China and the United States. However, when Tim Cook was asked about this issue during a conference call to discuss financial results, he insisted that the only emerging markets where the group was experiencing "pressure" on growth were Turkey, India, Brazil, and Russia, emphasizing that he did not include China "in that category." Nevertheless, in the following quarter, the group released much lower numbers than expected, marking its first failure to meet its targets since Tim Cook took office in 2011. The class-action lawsuit filed by shareholders, including the Norfolk County Council in eastern England, targeted not only "Apple" but also Tim Cook and CFO Luca Maestri. A hearing has been scheduled for April 30 to approve the settlement that will end the dispute.