Google Shares Surge In Premarket After Judge Doesn't Order It Broken Up

Core Viewpoint - The federal judge's ruling allows Alphabet to maintain its current structure and operations without breaking up or selling its Chrome web browser, which is seen as a positive development for the company and the industry, particularly in light of advancements in AI [1][2]. Group 1: Market Reaction - Alphabet's shares increased to $223.50, reflecting a nearly 5.4% rise in premarket trading following the ruling [1]. - Apple’s shares also saw a rise of 3.9% to $238.6, as the ruling permitted Google to continue paying Apple approximately $20 billion to remain the default search engine on Apple devices [2]. Group 2: Court Ruling Details - The judge ruled that Google must share its search and user-interaction data with "Qualified Competitors" but did not impose the most severe penalties [2]. - Google is prohibited from entering into exclusive contracts related to the distribution of its services, including Google Search, Chrome, Google Assistant, and the Gemini app [3]. Group 3: Company Response - Google stated that the ruling acknowledges the significant changes in the industry due to AI, emphasizing the intense competition and user choice [3]. - The company expressed concerns regarding the imposed limits on service distribution and data sharing, highlighting potential impacts on user privacy [3]. Group 4: Criticism of the Ruling - Epic CEO Tim Sweeney criticized the ruling, likening it to allowing a guilty party to continue harmful practices while only requiring data sharing with competitors [4].