Apple may restate earnings

Apple Computer Inc., maker of Macintosh computers and iPod music players, said it will probably restate earnings after an internal investigation into options backdating found additional suspicious grants.

The company delayed its quarterly filing with regulators while it conducts a review, Cupertino, Calif.-based Apple said Thursday in a statement. Apple said it hasn't determined the size of charge it will likely take to account for stock options or which periods need restating.

Apple is among the most prominent companies embroiled in the stock option scandal that has unfolded across Silicon Valley. Apple in June said it was investigating its stock-option grants from 1997 to 2001 and said one of them included Chief Executive Officer Steve Jobs. That announcement caused the stock to drop 2.9 percent the next day.

"The sooner we get it behind us, the better," said Jonathan Hoopes, an analyst at ThinkEquity Partners in New York. He has a "buy" rating on the stock he said he doesn't own it. "What I do like is that they are doing this quickly."

Company spokesman Steve Dowling didn't immediately return a call seeking comment. Shares of Apple on Thursday rose $1.43, or 2.1 percent, to $69.59 in Nasdaq Stock Market composite trading.

Apple on July 19 reported third-quarter profit rose 48 percent, citing higher sales of Macintosh computers and iPod music players.

Federal investigations have ensnared more than 80 companies including UnitedHealth Group Inc. and Home Depot Inc., and may involve dozens more, according to U.S. officials, securities lawyers and executive-pay specialists. The probe has turned into the country's biggest investigation of corporate malfeasance since an inquiry into improper mutual-fund trading three years ago led to $4.3 billion in penalties.

Stock options enable the holders to buy a specified number of the company's shares at a later date, usually at the price when the shares were granted. Executives receiving options make higher profits if the shares are granted at a low price.