In a sharply critical ruling with potentially far-reaching consequences, a federal judge has found Apple Inc. in violation of a previous court order aimed at opening up its App Store to alternative payment methods.

The judge mandated that Apple cease charging commissions on purchases made outside its proprietary system and took the extraordinary step of referring the tech giant to federal prosecutors for a potential criminal contempt of court investigation.

US District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, presiding over the long-running dispute between Apple and Fortnite creator Epic Games Inc., delivered the stinging rebuke on Wednesday.

She sided unequivocally with Epic’s argument that Apple had failed to genuinely comply with her 2021 injunction, which stemmed from findings that Apple engaged in anticompetitive practices under California law.

That original order required Apple to allow developers to steer users toward payment options outside the App Store, thereby bypassing Apple’s standard commission, which can reach up to 30%.

While Apple did implement changes allowing external links, it subsequently imposed a new 27% fee on revenues generated through those outside transactions – a move Epic argued undermined the court’s directive.

Judge Gonzalez Rogers agreed, finding Apple’s actions were not a good-faith attempt at compliance but a deliberate effort to maintain its lucrative App Store revenue stream.

“It did so with the express intent to create new anticompetitive barriers which would, by design and in effect, maintain a valued revenue stream; a revenue stream previously found to be anticompetitive,” she wrote in her detailed 80-page ruling.

That it thought this court would tolerate such insubordination was a gross miscalculation.

Criminal referral and allegations of deception

Perhaps the most striking element of the ruling is the referral to the US attorney’s office in San Francisco to investigate potential criminal contempt charges against Apple for flouting the 2021 order.

The US attorney’s office declined immediate comment.

The judge’s decision was underpinned by findings that Apple attempted to obscure its noncompliance.

“After two sets of evidentiary hearings, the truth emerged,” Gonzalez Rogers wrote.

Apple, despite knowing its obligations thereunder, thwarted the injunction’s goals, and continued its anticompetitive conduct solely to maintain its revenue stream.

Furthermore, the judge singled out testimony from Alex Roman, Apple’s vice president of finance, labeling it untruthful.

She stated Roman “even went so far as to testify that Apple did not look at comparables to estimate the costs of alternative payment solutions,” when evidence suggested the company did precisely that.

Because neither Roman nor Apple’s legal team corrected this testimony, “Apple will be held to have adopted the lies and misrepresentations to this court,” the judge concluded.

Judge Gonzalez Rogers also found Apple had abused attorney-client confidentiality to shield information from Epic, ordering Apple to cover Epic’s legal fees associated with fighting for those documents.

Apple disagrees, Epic claims victory

Apple expressed strong disagreement with the judge’s findings. “We will comply with the court’s order and we will appeal,” a company representative stated.

Conversely, Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney hailed the decision as a landmark win for software developers.

He told journalists the ruling “forces apple to compete with other payment services rather than blocking them,” calling it a “huge victory.”

Significant financial implications

The order forcing Apple to eliminate commissions on external App Store purchases could significantly impact the company’s bottom line.

The App Store generates billions of dollars in high-margin revenue annually.

This ruling comes as Apple potentially faces another major financial hit related to payments Google makes to be the default search engine on Apple devices, a central issue in the ongoing Department of Justice antitrust case against Google’s parent company, Alphabet Inc.

Legal context

It’s important to recall the initial 2021 trial outcome. While Judge Gonzalez Rogers found Apple’s conduct violated California’s Unfair Competition Law, she largely sided with Apple on federal antitrust claims.

Her order mandating the allowance of external payment links was upheld last year when the US Supreme Court declined to hear appeals from either side, making Wednesday’s contempt finding particularly significant.

The case reference is Epic Games Inc. v. Apple Inc., 20-cv-05640, US District Court, Northern District of California (Oakland).

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Qualcomm Inc’s (NASDAQ: QCOM) commitment to diversify its revenue beyond smartphone demand will help unlock significant upside in its stock price moving forward, says Samik Chatterjee, a senior JPM analyst.

Qualcomm reported better-than-expected earnings for its fiscal second quarter last night but issued cautious guidance for the future.

Still, Chatterjee continues to see QCOM shares as an attractive pick for the longer term. Including the post-earnings decline, the chipmaker is down nearly 20% versus its year-to-date high.

Qualcomm’s IoT and autos revenues are booming

In his research note, Chatterjee agreed there were some near-term concerns surrounding QCOM shares in 2025.

But the management’s commitment to boosting revenue from segments other than smartphones, like internet of things and autos, he added, could lead to “re-rating”, making Qualcomm stock attractive as long-term holding.

The chipmaker saw a 27% year-on-year increase in IoT revenue in its recently concluded quarter and an even bigger 59% growth in the automotive business.

In the earnings release, chief executive Cristiano Amon reiterated that “our top priorities remain executing our diversification strategy and continuing to invest in areas that drive long-term value.”

Note that QCOM is a dividend stock that currently yields 2.40% as well, which makes it even more exciting to own at current levels.

Nuvia acquisition to drive upside in QCOM shares

Qualcomm now sees its adjusted earnings on a per-share basis to print at $2.70 in the current quarter on $10.3 billion in revenue.

Analysts, in comparison, were at $2.67 per share but a higher $10.35 billion in sales for Q3.

Still, Qualcomm stock could drive “incremental interest” on the back of its Nuvia acquisition, according to the JPMorgan analyst.

In 2021, the multinational based out of San Diego, California spent $1.4 billion to takeover the chip design startup and strengthen its hold on the data centre market.

Finally, QCOM shares stand to benefit from AI tailwinds as well in 2025.

Is Qualcomm stock strongly positioned to weather tariffs?

On the earnings call last night, Qualcomm also confirmed that it doesn’t, at the moment, expect higher tariffs under the Trump administration to weigh meaningfully on its financials moving forward.

However, tariffs had not resulted in a significant pull forward of demand either, it added.

“One thing to remember is that we have a very diversified global supply chain. As we navigate these times, this is a company that is not inexperienced in dealing with uncertainty,” CEO Amon added on the earnings call.

Investors should also note that JPM is not alone in keeping bullish on Qualcomm stock. Consensus rating on QCOM shares also currently sits at “overweight”.

Analysts have an average price target of about $188 on the chipmaker, indicating more than 30% upside from current levels.

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The Rolls-Royce share price held steady on Thursday after the company published its financial results and reiterated its forward guidance. It was trading at 765p on Thursday, much higher than last month’s low of 557p. This article explores whether the Rolls Royce stock will keep rising and hit 1,000p this year.

Rolls Royce strong earnings

Rolls-Royce Holdings share price continued rising after the company published strong financial results and gave information about the impact of tariffs. 

In a statement, the firm said it is well-positioned to manage the impact of tariffs through the mitigating efforts it is taking. The CEO said:

“Good progress on our transformation and the actions we are taking give us confidence in our guidance for 2025 of £2.7bn-£2.9bn of underlying operating profit and £2.7bn- £2.9bn of free cash flow.”

As a large industrial company with operations in the United States, the company is exposed to Trump’s tariffs in various ways. The most notable one is through the 25% tariffs that Trump implemented on steel and aluminium. It is also paying at least 10% tariff in other goods it ships to the US. 

Rolls-Royce Holdings earnings came a day after Airbus published encouraging results in which it predicted that it will deliver 820 commercial aircraft this year. This is notable for Rolls-Royce since it produces all engines used in its wide-body planes. 

Read more: Rolls-Royce share price is recovering: is it a safe investment today?

Business is doing well

The Rolls-Royce share price rose after the management maintained its target for the year. It expects to have an underlying profit of between £2.7 billion and £2.9 billion this year, with its free cash flow also falling within this range.

The management attributed this estimate to the actions it has taken in the past few years and the rising demand. 

For example, the Long-Term Service Agreement (LTSA) large engine flying hours have jumped to 110% of the 2019 levels. This is a notable milestone since the company makes most of their money using the approach.

In it, airlines pay a fixed rate per engine flying hour to Rolls-Royce, which then handles comprehensive maintenance, repair, and overhaul services. 

Airlines love the approach since it shifts their maintenance risk to Rolls-Royce, while RR benefits from regular payments. Some of the companies using this model are Saudia, Amazon Global Air, UPS, Avianca, Emirates, and Lufthansa.

Rolls-Royce share price also rose after the company said that it was progressing well in the certification process of its HPT blade for the Trent 1000 engine. This is notable since the Airbus A350-900 with the Trent XWB-84 EP engine variant was certified in April.

The other parts of Rolls-Royce’s business, like Power and Defence are doing well. For example, its power business is seeing strong demand from data center companies.

Rolls-Royce share price analysis

RR stock chart | Source: TradingView

The daily chart shows that the RR share price bottomed at 557.8p in April to a high of 776.6p. It has remained above all moving averages, a sign that bulls are in control for now.

The stock has also formed an inverse head-and-shoulders chart pattern whose neckline is the all-time high of 811p. Other oscillators like the Relative Strength Index (RSI) and the MACD indicators continued rising.

Therefore, the stock will likely continue rising this year. The next key level to watch will be the neckline at 811p. A move above that level will point to more gains, potentially to the key resistance level at 1,000p. A drop below the support at the 100-day moving average at 670p will invalidate the bullish view.

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London’s FTSE 100 index is expected to open higher on Thursday, looking to extend an impressive winning streak, while most other major European stock exchanges remain closed for the May 1 public holiday.

Trading activity across the region will consequently be subdued, placing the UK market firmly in the spotlight.

Despite the closure of markets in Germany, France, and Italy, early indications point to a positive start for the UK benchmark.

The FTSE 100 finished Wednesday’s session with a 0.37% gain, marking its thirteenth consecutive positive closing day – the longest such run for the index since a period spanning late 2016 into early 2017.

This resilience comes even as broader European markets navigate mixed economic signals and ongoing corporate earnings reports.

Europe’s regional Stoxx 600 index managed to end Wednesday in positive territory, absorbing the impact of news that the US economy unexpectedly contracted by 0.3% in the first quarter.

Navigating economic crosscurrents and tariff fog

Sentiment in the region received some support from better-than-expected domestic data earlier in the week, showing the Eurozone economy grew by 0.4% in the first quarter, surpassing forecasts and providing a welcome contrast to the US GDP figures.

However, the broader picture for European stocks in the recently concluded month of April was less rosy.

Lingering concerns over the impact of US tariff policies weighed on sentiment, causing the Stoxx 600 to lose 1.2% over the month, although this was an improvement from a steeper 4.2% decline witnessed in March.

Earnings season: banks shine, caution prevails

The ongoing first-quarter earnings season has been a key focus for investors this week, offering insights into corporate health amidst the uncertain environment.

A distinct theme has emerged: while many companies across various sectors have flagged significant uncertainty and potential price pressures linked to US tariffs in their outlooks, several major banks, including UBS, Deutsche Bank, and Barclays, reported results that beat analyst expectations, particularly driven by strong investment banking performance.

Strategist view: defensive positioning favored

This divergence between cautious industrial outlooks and resilient banking performance informs current market strategy.

Max Kettner, chief multi-asset strategist at HSBC, suggested that banks globally still appear relatively well-positioned.

Speaking to CNBC’s ‘Europe Early Edition’ on Thursday, he noted, “…those growth risks that’s we’re facing now that are centered around the US, that should be helping European financials.”

However, Kettner advised a generally defensive posture given the prevailing uncertainties.

“Overall it is still time to play defense, particularly in the US, the likes of small caps, consumer cyclicals are the ones you really want to avoid, go more toward the defensives, your staples, your health-care, your utilities,” he recommended.

Positive lead from US tech earnings

Providing a supportive overnight cue for the London open, US stock futures ticked higher early Thursday.

This followed well-received earnings reports from technology giants Meta Platforms and Microsoft after the US market closed Wednesday, suggesting continued strength in the crucial Big Tech sector despite broader economic concerns.

With most of continental Europe offline for the holiday, trading volumes are expected to be light, potentially leading to more pronounced moves in the active UK market as it digests domestic news and the residual impact of global developments.

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Lloyds share price is hovering at its highest level in over 17 years as the British bank’s performance continues doing well. It was trading at 72p on Thursday after publishing its first-quarter results, which revealed that its lending performed well despite signs of weakening in the economy. 

Lloyds Bank had a strong first quarter

The UK’s economic growth has largely stalled over the past few years, as it continues to lack a clear catalyst and high interest rates take their toll. It is estimated that the economy grew by just 0.3% in the first quarter, helped by the services sector.

Lloyds Bank is often seen as a good barometer for the British economy as it is the biggest lender in the country. It serves over 26 million customers and thousands of businesses across the country.

The financial results published on Thursday showed that its net interest income rose by 3% to £3.29 billion. This increase happened as UK interest rates remained high and as homebuyers rushed to beat a stamp duty increase. It let out to 20,000 first-time buyers, higher than what it did in a while. This pushed its loans and advances to customers rose by 6% to £466.2 billion. 

The other income rose by 8% to £1.45 billion. This resulted in a net income of £4.3 billion, representing a 4% annualized increase. Its underlying profit was £1.53 billion, while the statutory after tax profit dropped by 7% to £1.3 billion.

Read more: Lloyds share price outlook ahead of earnings: buy, sell, hold?

LLOY reports a big impairment charge

The net profit narrowed because the company took and impairment charge of £309 million, higher than what analysts were expecting. On the positive side, the company did not bring any charges related to its motor insurance crisis this time. In a statement, the CEO said:

“Our differentiated business model stands out in the context of recent market volatility and economic uncertainty and helps support UK households and businesses as they further strengthen their financial resilience.”

Lloyds Bank hopes to have a net interest income of £13.5 billion this year and a Return on Tangible Equity (RoTE) of 13.5%. It hopes to continue growing its RoTE to over 15% next year. 

Lloyds Bank has a dividend yield of 4.02%, higher than the average one of the FTSE 100 Index. This explains why many investors, especially those focused on income, have piled into Lloyds. In fact, it is the most held stock in the UK with over 2.7 million shareholders.

The company hopes to continue paying its dividends and repurchasing its stock this year as it works towards reducing its CET-1 ratio from 13.5% to 13%.

Lloyds share price analysis

The daily chart shows that the Lloyds share price has been in a steady increase in the past few weeks. It initially crashed to a low of 58.72p as the tariff crisis escalated. This was in line with our previous LLOY forecast. It then rebounded swiftly and now sits at 72p. 

The stock has formed an inverse head-and-shoulders pattern, a popular bullish continuation sign. Its neckline is slanted and is at around 74p. It also remains above the 50-day and 100-day moving averages. 

Therefore, the inverse H&S pattern points to a strong bullish rally in the next few months. The initial target will be at the psychological point at 80p, with the most extreme situation being a surge to 100p. That would mean a 40% surge from the current level.

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