(BFM Bourse) – The title of the Apple group fell sharply on Thursday after the US Department of Justice initiated proceedings against the company for anti-competitive practices.
The news was well publicized by the Anglo-Saxon press. But that doesn’t stop the market from taking advantage of the opportunity to put pressure on Apple shares.
The title of the Apple group dropped 3.6% this Thursday at the start of the session on Wall Street, bringing its loss since the start of the year to more than 10%, when other big tech companies like Microsoft and Meta respectively took 13.8% and 44% over the whole of 2024.
This Thursday’s decline comes after the US Department of Justice (DoJ) formally opened an investigation against Apple for anti-competitive practices on Thursday afternoon.
“Apple illegally maintains a monopoly on smartphones by selectively imposing contractual restrictions on developers and denying them essential access points,” the DoJ charged in its statement.
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A dispute that will last for years
“Apple undermines applications, products and services that would allow users to be less dependent on iPhone, promote interoperability and reduce costs for consumers and developers,” continues the US Department of Justice .
“Apple is exercising its monopoly power to extract more money from consumers, developers, content creators, artists, publishers, small businesses, and merchants, among others,” the communication also reads. the American organization.
“While the Justice Department has filed three complaints against Apple in the past 14 years, this would be the first time it has taken on Cupertino’s dominant position and its core business model with the iPhone and its App Store ecosystem,” explained Wedbush analyst Dan Ives in a note published in anticipation of this decision.
“We do not expect a change in business model at this time, but Apple will clearly have to find a way to resolve this matter, pay a heavy fine and find a compromise with the developers on the structure of the App Store in the future,” continues the expert.
China and the weakness of AI
The year 2024 is currently a year without stock markets for Apple, which has suffered from disappointing sales in China, a country which represents around 20% of its revenues and where Huawei is making life difficult for it.
Apple’s low exposure to generative artificial intelligence, a major trend on Wall Street in recent months, may also have had an impact, with the market judging Microsoft and obviously Nvidia to be more promising in this area.
The most optimistic, like Bank of America, believe that Apple will be able to turn the tide by unveiling technologies – a new smartphone, new operating systems – enriched with AI. But so far, the group’s lack of announcement to capitalize on AI may create impatience among investors.
“Rightly or wrongly, Apple must show that it is still relevant in a world where investors want AI,” Kim Forrest, investment director at Bokeh Capital Partners LLC, noted in early March, cited by Bloomberg.
The news agency, however, reported last week that Apple was in discussions with Google to obtain a license to integrate “Gemini AI” technology, the generative artificial intelligence tool, into the iPhone.
Tim Cook, Apple’s chief executive, also warned that the company would say more during the year about its plans to ride the rise of AI.
Julien Marion – ©2024 BFM Bourse
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