Apple to face lawsuit for $74 billion investor losses after concealing plunging sales in China

A class-action lawsuit by shareholders is awaiting Apple Inc. for Chief Executive Tim Cook's concealment of falling demand for iPhones in China, resulting in $74 billion in investor losses.

US District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers said shareholders led by a UK pension fund can sue over Cook’s comment on Nov. 1, 2018, that China was not among the countries where Apple faced sales pressure.

A few days after Cook's pronouncement, Apple told suppliers to curb production.

The company eventually cut its quarterly revenue forecast by up to $9 billion on Jan. 2, 2019, causing shares of Apple to plummet 10 percent the next day, wiping out $74 billion of market value.

Cook partly attributed the revenue forecast drop to the pressure on China’s economy caused by trade tensions with the US.

It was the first lowered revenue forecast by Apple since it launched the iPhone in 2007.

Apple and Cook insist there was no proof of fraud or intent to defraud.

According to Rogers, shareholders alleged that Cook’s statements on its sales in China were materially false and misleading.

She added that while Cook might not have been fully aware of the situation in China, it “strains credulity” he would have not known about the trade tensions and its impact on Apple.

The plaintiffs, led by the Norfolk County Council as Administering Authority of the Norfolk Pension Fund, strongly inferred that Cook was aware of the risks when discussing China and that the CEO did not act innocently.