Apple must face shareholder lawsuit over CEO Cook's China sales comments-online

Apple must face a lawsuit proposed by shareholders who accused Chief Executive Tim Cook of concealing falling demand for iPhones in China, end up with billions of dollars of investor losses, reported Reuters.

In a decision on Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers said shareholders led by a UK pension fund can sue over Cook’s comment on a Nov. 1, 2018, analyst call that while Apple was facing sales pressure in some emerging markets, “I would not put China in that category.”

Apple told suppliers to curb production a few days after Cook spoke, and on Jan. 2, 2019, unexpectedly cut its quarterly revenue forecast by up to $9 billion, which Cook blamed in part on the pressure on China’s economy from U.S.-China trade tensions.

The lowered revenue forecast was the first by Cupertino, California-based Apple since the iPhone’s launch in 2007. Shares of Apple fell 10% the next day, erasing $74 billion of market value.

Apple and Cook have said there was no proof they defrauded or intended to defraud the plaintiffs. The company did not immediately respond on Thursday to requests for comment.