Tech giant, Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) could face a class action lawsuit worth £785 million (or $1 billion) from more than 1,500 apps developers in the U.K over its App Store fees, Reuters reported on Tuesday.
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The lawsuit in the UK has been filed by Sean Ennis, a former economist and a professor at the Centre for Competition Policy at the University of East Anglia, on behalf of 1,566 app developers. The report quoted Ennis as saying, “Apple’s charges to app developers are excessive, and only possible due to its monopoly on the distribution of apps onto iPhones and iPads. The charges are unfair in their own right and constitute abusive pricing. They harm app developers and also app buyers.”
Apple’s revenues from the App Store are a part of its services business and this segment’s revenues are growing rapidly to around $20 billion every quarter. However, app developers including anti-trust regulators in many countries have criticized the high commissions in the range of 15% to 30% charged by AAPL for using the app’s in-built payment system.
Meanwhile, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday that the company is looking to bolster its revenues this year by raising the average selling price for its iPhone 15 lineup. The company is also likely to hold iPhone shipments steady this year and has asked its suppliers to produce 85 million iPhone 15 units.
Analysts are bullish about AAPL stock with a Strong Buy consensus rating based on 24 Buys and seven Holds.
