Apple Faces $502M UK Patent Bill, US Court Sanctions Ahead Of Q2 Earnings – Stock Edges Lower Pre-Market

Apple shares edged lower in pre-market trading on Thursday ahead of its fiscal second-quarter earnings report, following a pair of legal defeats in both the U.K. and the U.S.

The U.K. Court of Appeal ruled that Apple must pay $502 million to Optis Cellular Technology for infringing 4G standard-essential patents in iPhones and iPads, according to a report by Reuters. 

The decision overturned a prior High Court ruling that awarded just $56.4 million plus interest, a sum Optis successfully argued was far too low.

In a statement, Apple announced its intention to appeal the ruling. “Optis makes no products and their sole business is to sue companies using patents they buy,” the company said. “We will continue to defend against their attempts to extract unreasonable payments.”

The setback follows a separate ruling in California, where U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers found Apple in violation of a 2021 court order requiring it to permit third-party payment systems on the App Store, as reported by Bloomberg.

The judge said Apple “willfully” violated the injunction in an attempt to preserve a key revenue stream and referred the company to federal prosecutors for potential criminal contempt.

The case was brought by Epic Games, which alleged Apple failed to comply with the terms of the original antitrust ruling. Gonzalez Rogers accused Apple of intentionally erecting new barriers to preserve its commission model. “That it thought this court would tolerate such insubordination was a gross miscalculation,” she wrote.

Apple, which had said it would comply and appeal, now faces the possibility of revenue losses in both its App Store and from Google's search payments, which are currently under scrutiny in a separate DOJ case.

Apple’s stock dipped nearly 1.5% in pre-market trade on Thursday.

Wall Street expects Apple to post earnings of $1.62 per share on $94.6 billion in revenue, according to Koyfin. The company’s shares have fallen 15% year-to-date amid renewed regulatory pressure and tariff concerns under President Donald Trump.

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