Wall Street's hopes that President Donald Trump could take a softer stance in the government's antitrust battle versus Google-parent Alphabet are fading amid the Justice Department's renewed call for a company break-up. Google stock was indicated slightly lower Sunday night.
The Department of Justice late Friday afternoon again proposed that Google be forced to sell its web browser Chrome.
The Biden administration last year asked a federal judge to order Alphabet to sell its Chrome browser and end internet search-related payments to Apple as part of antitrust legal remedies.
In a filing Friday, the DOJ reiterated those proposals. However, the DOJ backed away from requiring Google to divest investments in artificial intelligence. Google has invested billions of dollars in startup Anthropic, for example.
"Google's illegal conduct has created an economic goliath, one that wreaks havoc over the marketplace to ensure that — no matter what occurs — Google always wins," the DOJ said in the filing
Federal judge Amit Mehta in August ruled that Alphabet illegally maintained a monopoly over online search services and prevented rivals from developing their own products.
Mehta is expected to hear oral arguments on proposed remedies in April and rule by early August.
Meanwhile, another government antitrust lawsuit versus Google is going forward.
The DOJ claims Google's dominance of the digital ad market has damaged advertisers and content creators. Some analysts call it the "DoubleClick trial." In 2008, Google acquired leading digital advertising firm DoubleClick for $3.1 billion.
A ruling is expected in the spring. It's still possible the Trump administration and Alphabet could agree to a settlement.
Google Stock Technical Data
On the stock market today, Google stock fell 4.5% to close at 165.87 as the Nasdaq also tumbled.
Google stock has retreated 8% in 2025. Shares rose 2.1% last week, ending a four-week slide. They are slightly below Alphabet's 200-day moving average.
Google stock holds a Composite Rating of 96 out of a best-possible 99, according to IBD Stock Checkup.
Follow Reinhardt Krause on Twitter @reinhardtk_tech for updates on artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and cloud computing.
