Alphabet stock jumps US$234 billion after ruling reshapes Google’s practices but avoids company break-up
Alphabet’s market value swelled by US$234bn on September 4 as shares jumped 9.1 percent, after a US federal judge stopped short of forcing Google to sell its Chrome browser or Android operating system in the long-running antitrust case, reported CNBC.
Apple also benefited, adding US$130bn as its shares rose 3.8 percent, as the ruling allowed Google to continue paying billions annually to remain the default search engine on iPhones.
US District Judge Amit Mehta issued his ruling on September 3, rejecting the Department of Justice’s proposal for divestitures but imposing restrictions on exclusive contracts.
According to CNBC, the decision bars Google from entering deals that condition payments or licensing on exclusivity, though the company can still make payments for preloading its services.
Mehta also required Google to share certain search index and user interaction data with rivals on commercial terms, while excluding advertising data.
The ruling followed the August 2024 finding by the US District Court for the District of Columbia that Google had violated Section 2 of the Sherman Act by holding an illegal monopoly in search and related advertising.
CBC News noted that the case, which began in September 2023, became intertwined with the rise of generative AI.
In his decision, Mehta wrote that “the emergence of GenAI changed the course of this case,” acknowledging the role of AI competitors such as ChatGPT and Perplexity.
Google said in a blog post that the court had “imposed limits on how we distribute Google services, and will require us to share Search data with rivals.”
The company added that it was reviewing the decision and voiced concerns about potential impacts on user privacy.
The Department of Justice said in a press release that the ruling “recognizes the need for remedies that will pry open the market for general search services,” and confirmed that the measures extend to generative AI.
CBC News reported that Justice Department antitrust chief Gail Slater called the decision a “major win for the American people,” though she added the agency was considering whether the relief went far enough.
Markets responded positively to the outcome.
According to BNN Bloomberg, the S&P 500 climbed 0.5 percent and the Nasdaq gained 1 percent on September 4, led by technology shares.
Analysts described the ruling as “a relief” for both Google and Apple.
Separately, Google was ordered to pay US$425m in damages after a San Francisco federal jury found on September 4 that the company violated users’ privacy by continuing to collect data despite individuals turning off a tracking feature.
CTV News reported that the class action, filed in July 2020, covered about 98m users and 174m devices.
Plaintiffs had sought more than US$31bn in damages, but the jury declined to award punitive damages, finding Google had not acted with malice.
Google confirmed the verdict but denied wrongdoing, arguing that the collected data was “nonpersonal, pseudonymous, and stored in segregated, secured, and encrypted locations.”
The company has faced other privacy suits, including a nearly US$1.4bn settlement with Texas earlier in 2024 and an April agreement to destroy billions of private browsing records.
