Epic asks Supreme Court to uphold ban on Apple's 27% fee as Apple trades at 37 times 2027 earnings
Epic's November 13 brief defends the contempt ruling that bars Apple's 27% external-purchase fee. It lands on a stock Wall Street just crowned the "safe Costco of tech" at a record 37 times earnings.
Vincent Jiangtwo-minute read
Epic's brief puts numbers on the workaround
Six years after Apple+0.12% — Apple, up 0.12 percent today pulled Fortnite from the App Store over a hidden payment button, Epic Games filed its Supreme Court response on November 13, urging the justices to uphold the civil contempt ruling against Apple's payment rules 1. The brief puts the fee fight in hard numbers.
Apple set a 27% commission on external-link purchases knowing developers' payment processing costs run more than 3%, Epic argues, so buying outside the store cost more than Apple's 30% in-app rate; Epic quotes an Apple executive conceding every "linked-out transaction is going to be more expensive to any developer" than a 30% in-app sale 1. Apple also asserted privilege over more than 57,000 documents and commissioned an economic study Epic calls a "sham" 1.
A judge found Apple's finance vice president lied under oath
The judge below, Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers of the Northern District of California, found Apple finance vice president Alex Roman "outright lied under oath" about when the rate was decided, and referred him and the company to federal prosecutors 14.
A record multiple resting on an unsettled fee
The filing landed the week Bernstein crowned Apple the safe "Costco+1.31% — Costco, up 1.31 percent today of tech": an outperform rating, a $380 target, 37 times expected 2027 earnings, an all-time-high multiple, built on capex under 2% of revenue and 90% iPhone retention, about equal to Costco's membership renewal rate 2. That safe-haven story prices an App Store in legal limbo. Since the April 30, 2025, contempt order, Apple has been barred from charging anything on US link-out purchases, a zero that stands for the store's 1.4 million registered developers while the Supreme Court decides 34.
Apple at 37x forward earnings trades inside the premium-retailer club
The market prices Apple as a consumer compounder, level with Costco and Walmart
Data
| Value | |
|---|---|
| Costco | 46x |
| Walmart | 39x |
| Apple | 37x |
| General Electric | 36x |
The engine accelerated while the fee sat at zero
Apple's own ledger is the counterpoint. Revenue growth ran near 4% in the December 2024 quarter and about 16% by March 2026, and fiscal 2026 closed at a record $479 billion, with September-quarter revenue of $114.5 billion and Services at an all-time high 56. The US government split the difference too, backing contempt over Apple's link restrictions while arguing the 75-word injunction never clearly barred a commission 14. The Ninth Circuit kept the contempt finding in December 2025 but allowed only fees "genuinely and reasonably necessary" 4.
Apple's revenue accelerated through the zero-commission window
Growth went from about 4% to about 16% while the US link-out fee sat at zero
Data
| Revenue | |
|---|---|
| Q2 '24 | $85.78B |
| Q3 '24 | $94.93B |
| Q4 '24 | $124.3B |
| Q1 '25 | $95.36B |
| Q2 '25 | $94.04B |
| Q3 '25 | $102.47B |
| Q4 '25 | $143.76B |
| Q1 '26 | $111.18B |
| Q2 '26 | $109.42B |
| Q3 '26 | $114.48B |
January 11 counts the ballots
Apple's reply is due December 14, oral argument is set for January 11, 2027, and a ruling should land by June 13. After that, Judge Gonzalez Rogers still has to set what fee, if any, Apple may charge 4. At 37 times earnings, the market has already decided this fight doesn't matter; January 11 counts the ballots 4.
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