Verizon May Owe Apple $14 Billion
Verizon may soon be forced to fork over some big bucks to Apple.
The nation’s largest carrier may owe Apple an astounding amount of money resulting from a significant iPhone sales shortfall.
According to an investment research firm’s analysis of SEC filings, two out of every five smartphones sold in the U.S. this spring were iPhones. But that may still be insufficient to save Verizon from having to shell out billions to Apple for not selling an anticipated number of devices.
Published reports suggest that Verizon must sell $23.5 billion worth of iPhones this year to meet a commitment the carrier made to Apple three years ago.
Because of slower-than-expected sales, Verizon now must double its iPhone sales of last year. If it falls short, the company could be on the hook for as much as $14 billion, Moffett Research said in a report released this week.
“It is likely that Apple would be reluctant to simply ignore these commitments, since many other carriers around the world are probably in a similar situation, and a simple amnesty would set an unwanted precedent,” the research firm wrote, according to the L.A. Times. “It is therefore unrealistic to think that Apple won’t extract some consideration for renegotiating these shortfalls.”
