A U.S. federal court has rejected the Department of Justice's demand to force the sale of Google's advertising exchange AdX. This decision effectively puts an end to the scenario of forcibly breaking up Alphabet's business, and the company's shares have already responded with gains.
The litigation, which began back in 2023, was initiated by the DOJ and a number of states accusing Google of illegally monopolizing the ad tech market. In April 2025, Judge Leonie Brinkema sided with the prosecution, noting that the company artificially tied publishers to its AdX platform and charged a 20% commission on every transaction. However, in the final ruling, the pendulum swung the other way: the judge ruled that structural separation was too radical a measure.
Instead of selling AdX, the court ordered Google to reconsider how its advertising services operate. The key requirement is to give competitors broader access to auction bid data. This is targeted intervention, not the amputation of an entire business.
It is worth noting that Google consistently argued that spinning off AdX into a separate entity posed technical complexity and risks for clients. And the court heard those arguments. Moreover, this is already the third consecutive defeat for U.S. authorities in their attempts to break up tech giants: courts previously refused to strip Google of its Chrome browser and Meta (recognized as an extremist organization in Russia) of Instagram and WhatsApp.
The financial aspect also matters. With Alphabet's total market capitalization at $4.08 trillion, the ad manager generated only 4.1% of revenue and 1.5% of operating profit in 2020. The numbers speak volumes: for Google, this is more of a strategic asset than a primary source of income.
My take: This decision is a landmark signal for the entire technology industry. U.S. regulators appear to be abandoning the most aggressive tool—demonopolization through asset divestiture—in favor of behavioral remedies. For investors, this means reduced regulatory risk for major platforms, but it is too early to relax: pressure on Google in Europe and questions surrounding AI spending remain serious challenges that will drive stock dynamics in the medium term.