Google stock surges as it gets to keep Chrome in big antitrust win

Shares in Google parent Alphabet rose sharply Wednesday after a judge ruled that the tech giant won't have to sell its Chrome browser, a big win for Google in a landmark antitrust case.

Google stock rose more than 6% in pre-market trading Wednesday morning after the decision late Tuesday, which also allows it to retain control of its Android mobile operating system, easing a major regulatory headache for the company.

The decision did force some concessions to loosen Google’s grip on the online search landscape. It will prevent Alphabet from making some exclusive contracts with device manufacturers. The company also have to share some of its search data with competitors, which is expected to help artificial intelligence firms improve competing products.

But crucially, the ruling allows Google to continue paying companies such as Apple to feature its search engine. Google pays Apple about $20 billion to make Chrome the default search engine on devices. Apple stock also rose after the ruling, with shares up about 3% in pre-market trading Wednesday.

Judge Amit Mehta said the threat posed by AI competitors was part of his decision to impose less onerous terms on the company.

“The emergence of [generative AI] changed the course of this case,” he wrote. He said proceedings in the case “have been as much about promoting competition among [search engines] as ensuring that Google’s dominance in search does not carry over into the GenAI space.”

Mehta also wrote that the government “over-reached in seeking forced divesture” of its Chrome and Android assets, which the company “did not use to effect any illegal restraints”.

The Department of Justice had argued that Google should have to sell Chrome and possibly the Android operating system, after it won a case last year that found the company had an illegal monopoly in online search.

Gail Slater, head of the DOJ's antitrust division, said the decision “agreed with the need to restore competition to the long-monopolized search market.”

“We are now weighing our options and thinking through whether the ordered relief goes far enough in serving that goal,” she said.

Nidhi Hegde, executive director of the American Economic Liberties Project, a nonprofit which argues for tougher antitrust enforcement, called the decision “feckless” in the face of “monopolization.”

Mehta said the order would only apply for five years, plus an extra year to implement it, given the “light speed” advancement of AI technology and the changing landscape in the online search market.

Google voiced “concerns” with the decision, pointing to how it might “impact our users and their privacy.” The company added that it would be “reviewing the decision closely.”

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Analysts pointed toward the positives for the tech giant.

“This outcome removes a significant legal overhang and signals that the court is willing to pursue pragmatic remedies rather than scorched-earth tactics,” said Matt Britzman, an analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown.

Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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