Shareholders and the Norfolk City Council in the UK have recently received a conversion of its lawsuit into class action status, which opens it up to any shareholder affected by the comments Tim Cook has made in 2018.
The lawsuit takes issue with Apple CEO Tim Cook and his commentary during the earnings call in 2018, where he said that ‘ I would not put China in that category’ after experiencing sales pressure in regional markets.
A year later, Apple made some revisions over its revenue guidance prediction; however, some shareholders said that it was too late. iPhone sales were lower in China, and shareholders could have the option to be compensated to the falling sales figures.
The change of status allows more shareholders to take part and reduces the claimants’ standard of proof requirements. Apple countered by saying Cook’s comments were a ‘statement of opinion’ and thus protected, which means there wasn’t any misleading or false statement.
