Alphabet stock jumps as court ruling avoids structural remedies in antitrust case

Published 03/09/2025, 11:20
Alphabet stock jumps as court ruling avoids structural remedies in antitrust case

Investing.com - Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) stock rose after a U.S. District Court issued its remedial opinion in the United States v. Google antitrust case, declining structural remedies while imposing more moderate restrictions on the tech giant’s operations. The $2.56 trillion market cap company, which maintains a "GREAT" financial health score according to InvestingPro, has seen its stock trading near its 52-week high of $215.34.

The September 2, 2025 ruling follows last year’s court finding that Google unlawfully maintained monopolies in general search services. The court rejected broad payment bans but accepted modified versions of Google’s proposed injunctive limits on its contracts and implemented data-sharing obligations designed to open markets. Despite regulatory challenges, the company maintains robust financials with 13.13% revenue growth and a strong balance sheet.

The court will prohibit exclusive terms in Google’s distribution contracts, extend non-exclusivity protections to generative AI products, and require that OEM and carrier revenue-share deals include annual options to change defaults, while still permitting non-exclusive payments.

Additional remedies include requiring Google to provide a one-time snapshot of its crawled web Search Index, share limited anonymized user-interaction datasets periodically, and offer search-result and general search text-ad syndication to qualified competitors on commercial terms. The company must also disclose material changes to its ad auctions.

The six-year decree becomes effective 60 days after entry, with a Technical Committee activating immediately. The court has ordered parties to meet and file a revised final judgment implementing the opinion by September 10, 2025.

In other recent news, Apple will continue to receive payments from Google to maintain its position as the default search engine on Safari, following a federal judge’s ruling in the Department of Justice antitrust case against Google. This arrangement, estimated to bring Apple $15-20 billion annually, will no longer include exclusivity agreements and will limit search placement deals to one-year terms. Meanwhile, BofA Securities raised its price target for Alphabet to $252, maintaining a Buy rating after a favorable court ruling in Google’s search antitrust case. The court’s decision is seen as a significant win for Google, particularly as it does not require the divestment of its Chrome browser.

Additionally, Waymo, a subsidiary of Google, announced its plans to launch an autonomous vehicle service in Denver this fall. The service will feature a mixed fleet of Jaguar I-PACE vehicles with the 5th-generation Waymo Driver and Zeekr RT vehicles equipped with the 6th-generation Waymo Driver. In a separate development, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz emphasized the European Union’s sovereignty over digital market regulations in a discussion with U.S. President Donald Trump. French President Emmanuel Macron also reaffirmed France and Germany’s commitment to maintaining EU digital regulations despite criticism from President Trump.

This article was generated with the support of AI and reviewed by an editor. For more information see our T&C.

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