A judge ruled largely in favour of Alphabet’s Google on Tuesday, rejecting US prosecutors’ bid to make the company sell off its popular Chrome browser and Android operating system but compelling the tech giant to share data with competitors to open up competition in online search.
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Alphabet shares were up nearly 6.7 per cent in extended trading on Tuesday as investors cheered the judge’s ruling.
While sharing data with competitors will strengthen Google’s rivals to its market-dominating advertising business, not having to sell off Chrome or Android removes a major concern for investors who view them as key pieces to Google’s overall business.
The ruling was also a relief for Apple and other device and web browser makers, whom US District Judge Amit Mehta said can continue to receive advertising revenue-sharing payments from Google for searches on their devices. Google pays Apple US$20 billion annually, Morgan Stanley analysts said last year.
Google has said previously that it plans to file an appeal, which means it could take years before the company is required to act on the ruling.
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Google CEO Sundar Pichai expressed concerns at trial in the case in April that the data-sharing measures sought by the US Department of Justice could enable Google’s rivals to reverse-engineer its technology.