Lawsuit Levied Against Apple Could Change Conference Call Commentary Forever

CEOs may be a little less reckless with their words in the future, if they're watching the progress of a class action lawsuit brought against Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL). Last week, a federal judge granted permission to pursue the case, which claims CEO Tim Cook misled shareholders with a comment made during a conference call in late 2018. The plaintiffs' attorneys argue that the price of their clients' shares of Apple fell because Cook painted a relatively rosy picture of iPhone demand, even though the company reportedly cut orders for the smartphone just a few weeks later, which would suggest that demand was actually lackluster.

It's not a particularly strong case. Cook's verbiage was vague and relative, and the statement was made before Apple appears to have dialed back its expectations for iPhone sales. The complaint further ignores that Apple stock has risen nearly 60% from its price before the call in question took place, and has surged 148% from the low made a couple of months following Cook's comment. Both are better than the S&P 500's performance for the same timeframe.

Source Fool.com