Apple refuses to be dethroned in the European Union despite regulators’ best efforts.
In March, the company was forced to make major changes to its operating system and App Store to comply with Europe’s Digital Markets Act (DMA), a set of regulations that seek to rein in the monopolistic power of Big Tech, including Apple and rivals Google and Amazon.
To comply with the new rules, Apple in March began allowing other app stores on Apple devices and changed its developer fee structure. At the time, analysts and media outlets noted that the changes could have a major impact on Apple’s core business in Europe at a time when the company was already struggling from waning iPhone sales outside of the U.S.
But that hasn’t been the case so far, according to analysts at investing firm Evercore. “EU App Store revenue data does not currently show any meaningful change to revenue levels since Apple’s compliance with the Digital Market Act,” Evercore analysts wrote in a recent note seen by Investing.com.
Evercore analysts noted that EU App Store sales rose 9% in March from February, before the DMA had gone into effect. The firm didn’t immediately respond to Quartz’s request for comment.
Apple has found a way around the EU’s new rules to discourage developers from offering apps outside of the App Store. Though the tech giant cut traditional developer fees and began allowing developers to use other marketplaces, it introduced a new charge called a Core Technology Fee that requires major app developers to pay Apple based on the number of times their app is downloaded.
Apple’s proceeds from the new core fee reduced the impact it felt from the EU’s new rules, Evercore analysts said. But they also warned that changes to the core fee, which is under scrutiny from European regulators, could put a dent in Apple’s business.
Evercore’s Amit Daryanani reiterated his market outperform of Apple, setting his price target for the stock at $220.