Apple has come to an out-of-court settlement to pay $490 million to shareholders who accused the iPhone company of making deceptive statements about its business in China in 2018.
Shareholders criticized Apple executives and CEO Tim Cook for declaring in 2018 that the company’s business was resilient, when in fact it was slowing down.
The settlement was filed on Friday, nearly five years after the case began, and it must be approved by a federal judge.
Apple suffered at the time from a deceleration of the economy in China and tensions between Beijing and Washington.
Cook said in an earnings conference call that Turkey, India, Brazil, and Russia were the only emerging economies where pressure on sales was felt, adding he did not see China as part of that category.
Apple shareholders, led by Norfolk County Council in the east of the UK, had brought a class action lawsuit against Cook and CFO Luca Maestri.
A hearing to validate the agreement has been scheduled for April 30.
