Shares of Apple dipped nearly 3% Monday morning to a four-month low, following the European Union’s landmark decision to fine the company nearly $2 billion over antitrust violations, handing Apple its worst day on Wall Street in more than two months, as its shares continue to slide.
Shares of Apple fell nearly 3% on Monday, the tech giant’s worst day since early January.
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Key Facts
Apple’s stock fell to just below $175 per share Monday morning, its lowest point since early November and its biggest single-day decline since Jan. 2.
The slumping shares price comes just hours after the California tech giant was fined nearly $1.95 billion for breaking EU antitrust rules—the EU’s first ever antitrust fine on Apple—with the commission ruling Apple restricted other streaming services from informing users of cheaper streaming options outside of Apple’s app store.
Apple has criticized the decision, saying the commission reached its landmark fine despite “its failure to uncover any credible evidence of consumer harm.”
News Peg
The European Commision, an executive body of the European Union, ruled on Monday that Apple had “applied restrictions” on its rival app developers, hurting competition by prohibiting those companies from informing iPhone users of “alternative and cheaper” subscription services. In its ruling, the commission stated Apple’s anticompetitive behaviour went on for nearly 10 years, resulting in users paying more money for streaming services, due to Apple’s commission fee on in-app transactions (Apple takes a 30% fee on all transactions purchased in its app on iPhones and iPads).
Key Background
Apple’s stock has been on a downward trend in recent months, slumping nearly 6% since the start of the year. Apple’s worst day in 2024 on Wall Street came on Jan. 2, when its shares fell nearly 4% on the heels of a pessimistic rating from Barclays analysts over concerns that weak iPhone sales could force its shares price down. Last week, Apple’s shares continued their descent, closing at their lowest level in nearly four months, amid questions over the tech giant’s initiatives in the booming artificial intelligence arena, and as investors turn to the company’s competitors, including Microsoft. Apple had just last week announced it would abandon its decade-long project to develop an electric car, a major initiative CEO Tim Cook once called the “mother of all AI projects.”
This article was first published on forbes.com and all figures are in USD.
