Europe’s top court has ruled against Apple (AAPL), ordering the iPhone maker to pay 13 billion euros ($14.4 billion) in back taxes to Ireland, and also upheld a 2.4-billion-euro ($2.7 billion) antitrust fine leveled at Alphabet’s (GOOGL) Google; Oracle (ORCL) shares are jumping on better-than-expected quarterly results and a partnership with Amazon’s (AMZN) cloud business; meme stock GameStop (GME) is expected to post declining second-quarter revenue and a wider loss after the bell; and AstraZeneca’s (AZN) lung cancer drug trial underwhelms. U.S. stock futures are little changed. Here’s what investors need to know today.
The European Court of Justice ruled against Apple (AAPL) and said the iPhone maker had benefited from unfair tax breaks from the Irish government, setting aside an earlier ruling that overturned 13 billion euros ($14.4 billion) in underpaid taxes. Apple lost its final challenge of the European Commission’s 2016 order to Dublin to recover the back taxes over “illegal tax benefits” from Ireland over the course of two decades. Shares of Apple, which unveiled its hotly anticipated artificial intelligence (AI)-powered iPhone 16 Monday, are falling 1% in premarket trading.
The European Court of Justice also ruled against Alphabet’s (GOOGL) Google, which had appealed a 2.4-billion-euro ($2.7 billion) fine for abusing its dominant position and favoring its own shopping services over those of its competitors. Europe’s top court upheld a 2017 decision by the European Commission, the executive arm of the European Union (EU). Alphabet shares are little changed in premarket trading.
Oracle (ORCL) shares are jumping 8% in premarket trading after the enterprise software company posted better-than-expected fiscal first-quarter results and announced a partnership with Amazon’s (AMZN) cloud business, Amazon Web Services. The software giant’s stock has gained more than 30% this year, fueled by growing demand for its cloud services, particularly in AI applications.
GameStop (GME), the video game retailer associated with the 2021 meme-stock craze, reports quarterly financial results after the closing bell Tuesday. Analysts expect the company to post declining revenue, a slightly larger net loss, and 23% lower comparable store sales compared with the second quarter of fiscal 2023. Shares are little changed in premarket trading.
AstraZeneca (AZN) shares are slipping in premarket trading after a Phase 3 trial found the British pharmaceutical firm’s lung cancer drug did not significantly improve patients’ overall survival rates. The results from the TROPION-Lung01 trial showed that the overall survival rate “did not reach statistical significance,” the company said.