SAN FRANCISCO
Apple’s stock recovered Monday from late last week, but tax inquires from the European Union could rock the stock in the near future.
The E.U. is expected to advance an investigation into the company on Tuesday, alongside a slew of others big names including Starbucks.
Apple is suspected of making a special deal with Ireland, which offers lower taxes than many other E.U. nations, in order to avoid paying billions in taxes.
Apple fumbled over several hurdles last week following the trumpeted release of the iPhone 6. Several major public relations misfires ranging from a U2 album giveaway to reports that the new smartphones bend, battered shares of the company on Wall Street.
Right before CEO Tim Cook introduced the world to the iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus and Apple Watch on Sept. 9, reports that hackers breached Apple’s iCloud system to attain intimate photographs of celebrities killed market momentum for the company going into its biggest release of the year.
The day of the iPhone unveil, shares dipped to just below $98 from a historic high of $103.30 earlier in the month.
Wall Street smiled on the new releases, but several blunders in the following days angered scores of Apple customers enough to push shares down to $97.87 by Thursday.
The trouble started with U2. Apple gave all iTunes users a free copy of the Irish band’s latest album. The ploy didn’t take into account that many Apple users might not be U2 fans and did not want the album, no matter what the price. In an embarrassing reversal, Apple provided instructions on how to give back the gift.
Reports followed that bugs in an update to Cupertino’s new mobile operating system, iOS 8, caused iPhone users to lose cell phone service. After a wave of complaints, Apple pulled the update, issued a rare apology and then quickly released iOS 8.0.2 that fixed the glitches.
The most headache-inducing problem for Apple last week, though, was definitely “Bendgate," or “Bendgazi,” depending on who’s tweeting. Videos circulated claiming that the new giant iPhone 6 Plus was prone to bending if carried in pockets.
Apple responded by bringing the press into its “stress test” lab, where iPhones are put through a series of grueling exams. The company also announced that of the more than 10 million iPhones already sold, only nine had been returned because of warping.
The PR cleanup appears to have worked. Apple shares are currently hovering above $100.
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