Alphabet stock could fall as much as 25% in ‘black swan event’ if judge orders Google Chrome divestiture
From Yahoo Finance: 2025-06-02 13:44:00
Alphabet stock could drop 15-25% if ordered to sell Chrome browser by US District Judge Mehta after losing an antitrust trial in August 2024. Department of Justice argued for divestiture, sharing search data with rivals, and banning exclusivity agreements. Barclays analyst Sandler sees OpenAI, Anthropic, or Perplexity as potential buyers.
Sandler warns that a Chrome divestiture could lead to a 25% stock drop and a potential 30% hit to earnings per share for Alphabet. Decision on remedy and fate of Google’s search empire expected in August. Google plans to appeal the antitrust decision.
Alphabet agrees to spend $500 million to change compliance structure to settle antitrust case with shareholders. Stock fell 1.5% on Monday, down 10.6% year to date.