Apple is joining forces with the US Department of Justice in its antitrust trial against Google, signaling that the search giant’s revenue-sharing agreements with the company are under threat. The deal brought Apple an estimated $20 billion in 2022 alone.
Google pays developers who set it as the default search engine a portion of its ad revenue. However, Apple claims it cannot adequately defend these agreements and instead plans to call witnesses in the trial scheduled for April. The US DOJ is seeking to address Google’s alleged monopolistic practices and potentially break up its business units.
The case aims to restore competition in online search. Google has proposed easing its default agreements but stopped short of ending its ad revenue-sharing deals. Analysts remain cautiously optimistic about Apple’s stock, with a Moderate Buy consensus rating based on 19 Buys, eight Holds, and two Sells.
Source: https://www.tipranks.com/news/aapl-joins-googls-antitrust-trial-to-defend-its-billion-dollar-search-deal