Apple off to worst-ever start in 2024 as iPhone, antitrust worries erase $177B in value
NY Post
Apple shares are off to their worst-ever start to begin a year as investors fret over a series of issues plaguing the tech giant – including signs of weak iPhone demand and mounting federal antitrust scrutiny.
The Cupertino, Calif.-based company’s valuation plummeted by $177 billion in market value through last Friday since the start of 2024, Bloomberg reported.
The stock fell more than 6% during the shortened opening week — leading to the largest decline in a company’s market cap on record over the same period — and put Apple at risk of losing its title as the world’s most valuable company.
Shares were hit after a report surfaced that the Justice Department was in the “late stages” of filing a massive antitrust lawsuit against Apple.
The feds are investigating whether Apple has stifled competition and leveraged its hardware and software products to maintain the iPhone’s dominance over the market.
A DOJ antitrust lawsuit “would add to the plethora of problems it faces, from slowing iPhone sales to Watch patent issues,” according to Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Anurag Rana.
