The potential of the US administration disbanding Google is currently being contemplated, yet the shareholders of the $2 trillion internet powerhouse appear largely unbothered. Alphabet’s stock value experienced a minor decrease after the US Department of Justice indicated an intention to pursue “behavioural and structural remedies” to deter Google from leveraging products such as Android and Chrome, to monopolise digital searches.
While requests for specific agreements from Google, known as behavioural remedies, may be digestible, the suggestion of “structural” remedies could have made Alphabet’s investors nervous. However, the shareholders seemed indifferent, indicating they see the thought of ending Google’s dominion over online search as somewhat fantastical, as noted by the Financial Times’ Lex column.
Investors are well aware that regulatory legal procedures are notoriously lethargic. The complaint against Google by the department was filed back in 2020 and it’s projected that the case may linger for multiple additional years. Observers also highlight that the previous significant tech antitrust lawsuit, which unfolded against Microsoft in 2001, did not result in the company being dismantled.
Nonetheless, in hindsight, Bill Gates has stated unequivocally that the antitrust litigation was “detrimental for Microsoft”, positing that Windows could have crowned the world’s prevailing mobile operating system if the case hadn’t distracted the company. Google, now under threat from AI competitors clamouring to topple its search supremacy, cannot afford such a diversion.