Apples troubles regarding the issuance of stock option grants and the surrounding fallout came to a head Friday. In a statement issued by the company after the close of the market, Apple disclosed it had requested a hearing with a NASDAQ committee following the receipt of a letter threatening the company with delisting its shares.
NASDAQs threat came after Apple failed to file on time a Form 10-Q, which is a more detailed version of the companys quarterly earnings, with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The company warned that it would miss the deadline during the day Friday, and amended the filing to include notice of the NASDAQs actions later in the afternoon.
“The Company anticipates that there will be significant changes in the results of operations for the quarter ended July 1, 2006 compared to the quarter ended June 25, 2005, including significant increases in the Companys revenue and expenses,” Apple said in the filing.
The problems surrounding the reporting of stock option grants has spread through the technology industry like wildfire over the past several months. Companies including CNET Networks, Intuit, VeriSign and others are all the target of a federal investigation that alleges the companies allowed the dates of stock grants to be altered in order to make more money for their employees.