Apple’s Tim Cook to get award from Taoiseach
Apple’s chief executive officer, Tim Cook, will meet with the Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, in Dublin, later this month, to receive an award from the Government. It is in recognition of the company’s 40 years of investment in Ireland, according to IDA Ireland.
While Apple is one of the biggest employers in Ireland, some tensions have emerged.
In 2018, the company shelved a plan to build a $1bn (€898m) datacentre in Athenry, amid difficulties over planning objections.
In addition, the EU has slapped Apple with a €13bn bill, saying that the Government granted the company unfair deals, which reduced its corporate tax rate over many years. Apple and Ireland are appealing that decision.
Meanwhile, Apple shares hit a new high, after the company said customers spent a record amount in its App Store during the final days of the Christmas and New Year holidays.
App Store spending totalled $1.4bn (€1.2bn) between Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve, up 16% from the same period in 2018, Apple said in a blog post.
The shares rise helped push its gains since the end of 2018 to 92%.
Rising spending on apps, and the success of wearables, such as AirPods, highlight Apple’s ability to generate more revenue, despite sluggish iPhone growth, according to Wedbush Securities analyst Daniel Ives.
That “speaks to the underlying strength that Cupertino is having monetising its golden jewel-installed base of 925m iPhones worldwide,” he wrote in a research note.
