Apple (AAPL) Mounts Aggressive Defense Against Looming $38B Regulatory Hammer
Tech titan scrambles to dodge what could be history's costliest corporate penalty
The Cupertino giant's legal war chest opens wide as regulators take aim
Behind the scenes: How Apple's lobbying machine shifts into overdrive
Wall Street shrugs—'just another cost of doing business' for the $3T club
Funny how antitrust fines never seem to dent those offshore cash piles
TipRanks Black Friday Sale
- Claim 60% off TipRanks Premium for the data-backed insights and research tools you need to invest with confidence.
- Subscribe to TipRanks' Smart Investor Picks and see our data in action through our high-performing model portfolio - now also 60% off
The case is tied to an ongoing antitrust battle that began in 2022, when Match Group (MTCH) (owner of Tinder) and several Indian startups accused Apple of abusing its power over the iOS app market. Investigators later concluded that Apple had engaged in “abusive conduct,” such as blocking third-party payment processors and charging fees of up to 30% for in-app purchases. Apple denies any wrongdoing, and the CCI hasn’t yet issued a final decision or penalty.
In its legal filing, Apple compares the penalty system to fining a stationery store for a violation that only happened in its toy section, arguing that India should only fine the specific business unit responsible for the violation, and only based on its Indian revenue. Apple also pointed out that the CCI recently applied the rule retroactively in another case, which prompted it to act now to avoid the same risk. Although Apple says it’s a smaller player in India compared to Google’s (GOOGL) Android, its user base in the country has quadrupled in the past five years. The case will be heard on December 3.
Is Apple a Buy or Sell Right Now?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Moderate Buy consensus rating on AAPL stock based on 21 Buys, 12 Holds, and two Sells assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. Furthermore, the average AAPL price target of $289.17 per share implies 4% upside potential.
