© Reuters. BofA: Apple (APPL) DOJ Lawsuit Could Be Another Step Toward Lower App Fees
BofA analysts said in a note Tuesday that they believe the Justice Department's lawsuit against Apple (NASDAQ ) could mark another step toward lower enforcement fees for subscription companies.
The US Department of Justice and 16 other state and district attorneys general filed a civil antitrust lawsuit against Apple, alleging monopolistic practices and anticompetitive behavior in the smartphone (iPhone) market.
The move follows several other recent cases/events focused on Apple and Google's app store practices.
The BofA analysts said that in their view, “it is not clear that enabling cross-platform apps or allowing competing apps on the platform would necessarily lead to a migration of users (the heart of the competition problem) and that competing app stores are charging fees not unlike Apple's,' particularly on subscriptions.”
“However, given what appears to be some degree of momentum in app store practices, further changes to app store fees or fees related to alternative payments may be introduced,” BofA added. .
The bank believes that if this were to happen, it would be positive for Match, Bumble and, to a lesser extent, Duolingo's gross margins and profits.
