Following Wednesday’s revision to Apple’s earnings estimates, a second law firm has begun investigating Apple’s public claims regarding its disclosures regarding its business in China.
Three days after Apple CEO Tim Cook revised the company’s earnings forecast for the holiday quarter, New York-based Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman announced that it too is investigating whether Apple has violated federal securities laws.
The law firm questions the veracity of Apple’s announcement that it expects to end the quarter with revenue of $84 billion, a 7 percent decrease from the $89 billion to $93 billion forecast issued at the end of fiscal 2018. Cook primarily attributed the reduction to weak iPhone demand in Greater China and “other emerging markets.”
As with the previous investigation, which was announced hours after the earnings revision, the company has doubts about Cook’s statement about business in China from the previous quarter.
“Last quarter, our business in China was very robust. We grew by 16%, which we are very pleased with “Cook said. The iPhone in particular experienced double-digit growth in that region.
In November and December of 2018, in addition to Apple, Intel, Ford, and other Fortune 500 companies expressed concern about the Chinese economy. Similar to Apple, Intel and Ford reported positive results from China during the September 2018 quarter.
