Apple popped more than 2% today after revealing its App Store has clamped down on over $9 billion in sketchy transactions over the past five years—$2 billion of that just in 2024.
In that same year, Apple pulled the plug on 146,000 developer accounts and turned away 139,000 hopeful registrants, while kicking out 129 million dubious user accounts and stopping 711 million questionable sign-ups in their tracks.
The report also shines a light on privacy policing: 400,000 apps didn't make the cut last year for sneaky data grabs, and Apple flagged 4.7 million stolen credit cards—banning 1.6 million accounts from ever spending again. All this comes as the company faces fresh legal heat: a federal judge just referred it to prosecutors for defying an order to loosen App Store download and payment rules.
Why you should care: keeping fraudsters at bay isn't just good PR—it's vital for protecting the Services business that now drives a big slice of Apple's earnings.
Looking ahead, investors will be tuning into Apple's late-July earnings call for updates on how these security measures are holding up—and whether any App Store policy tweaks are on the horizon.
