- A court ruling determined that iPhone apps will be able to provide a link directing users to their own websites to take payments, bypassing Apple's up to 30% cut in-app purchases.
- Apple stock slid over 3% on the news during trading on Friday.
- But Wall Street analysts and longtime Apple followers believe that the financial impact to the company will be limited.
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Tim Cook, chief executive officer of Apple Inc., center, arrives at U.S. district court in Oakland, California, on Friday, May 21, 2021.Nina Riggio | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Apple prevailed on nine of 10 counts in its trial against Epic Games on Friday, but federal Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers issued an injunction that prohibits Apple from preventing developers from linking out in their apps to collect payments directly and cut out Apple and its 30% take of in-app purchases.
Apple's stock slid more than 3% on the news Friday. But Wall Street analysts and longtime Apple followers believe that the financial impact on the company will be limited.
Developers will only be able to link, and will not be permitted to build their own alternative payments mechanism into their apps, a person familiar with Apple's thinking said. That limits the effect as Apple's in-app payments will still be easier for a consumer than putting their credit card into a website.
JPMorgan analyst Samik Chatterjee said the ruling did not change the bank's outlook for Apple's services or app store businesses, noting that the decision did not recommend changes to Apple's 30% take, and that it merely kicks off the first stage of a multistep process.
"Our view continues to be that consumers will leverage payment alternatives in the case of expensive subscriptions and in-app purchases, limiting headwinds for App Store revenues and earnings from what is an otherwise very broad base of applications," Chatterjee wrote.
