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Investors look remarkably calm about the biggest tech antitrust case in decades, as Google parent Alphabet (GOOG +2.3%, GOOGL +2.4%) is reclaiming its October high levels on volume running slightly high, but not overheated.
“Today, millions of Americans rely on the Internet and online platforms for their daily lives,” U.S. Attorney General William Barr says, commenting on the suit filed by his Justice Dept. and 11 states. “Competition in this industry is vitally important, which is why today’s challenge against Google — the gatekeeper of the Internet — for violating antitrust laws is a monumental case both for the Department of Justice and for the American people.”
“This lawsuit strikes at the heart of Google’s grip over the Internet for millions of American consumers, advertisers, small businesses and entrepreneurs beholden to an unlawful monopolist,” Barr continues.
The DOJ complaint focuses on exclusionary agreements that “collectively lock up the primary avenues” through which users reach search engines, by requiring that Google be set as the default on billions of mobile devices and computers worldwide.
That’s a narrower scope than the complaint could have taken on, with various probes swirling around Google’s approach to advertising and bundling. Those wide-ranging issues don’t really come up in today’s complaint.
Deputy AG Jeffrey Rosen compared the suit to the department’s antitrust action against AT&T in 1974, and against Microsoft in 1998.
Meanwhile, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (always a tough voice on tech regulation) says the antitrust case against Google doesn’t go far enough: “Two things can both be true: Bill Barr is a corrupt Trump crony who shouldn’t be AG, and @TheJusticeDept has the power to pursue a legit antitrust suit against Google. The case is clear – in fact, it could have gone further. It must move forward without political interference.”
Google has responded that the lawsuit is “deeply flawed” and will do nothing to help consumers. “People use Google because they choose to, not because they’re forced to, or because they can’t find alternatives.” The suit will “artificially prop up lower-quality search alternatives, raise phone prices, and make it harder for people to get the search services they want to use.”
The company is considering filing pretrial motions challenging the DOJ’s theories, and adds “We’re confident that a court will conclude that this suit doesn’t square with either the facts or the law.”
Other companies in antitrust crosshairs are also higher today: Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) +1.6%, Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) +2.6%, Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) +3%.
And while the DOJ was joined by 11 states (led by Republican AGs) in today’s filing, more states may join the suit in a second wave (including those with Democratic administrations).
The full DOJ complaint
Today’s Adobe (ADBE +0.6%) MAX event featured a full slate of updates and announcements, including the launch of Illustrator on the iPad (works with Apple Pencil), Fresco for the iPhone, and new versions of Photoshop for the desktop and iPad.
The Photoshop update includes five AI features like Neural Filters and Sky Replacement. Adobe will also give select Creative Cloud users access to its Content Authenticity Initiative, a system that lets users attach metadata to art that will be posted on Adobe’s Behance site. The system is meant more for providing easy attribution to images in a composite than identifying fraudulent images.
“In a year defined by so many challenges, we’re proud to bring our community together to underscore the resilience of creativity and share our vision for empowering creativity for all,” says Scott Belsky, chief product officer and EVP, Creative Cloud, Adobe. “Visualizing ideas, sharing stories and expressing whatever’s in the mind’s eye are more important now than ever. We’re excited to introduce creative apps and services built to fuel continued growth for creative professionals, while also outfitting novices who want simple tools that bring their ideas to life.”
Check out the full list of announcements here.
Texas Instruments (NASDAQ:TXN): Q3 GAAP EPS of $1.45 beats by $0.17.
Revenue of $3.82B (+1.3% Y/Y) beats by $370M.
Gross margin of 64.3% vs. consensus of 64.6%; and Operating margin of 42.2% vs. consensus of 40%.
TI’s fourth quarter outlook is for revenue in the range of $3.41B to $3.69B, and EPS between $1.20 and $1.40.
Shares +2.1%.
Sangoma Technologies (OTC:SAMOF): FQ4 GAAP EPS of C$0.035.
Revenue of C$34.82M (+15.8% Y/Y)
Navient (NASDAQ:NAVI): Q3 Non-GAAP EPS of $1.03 beats by $0.24; GAAP EPS of $1.07 beats by $0.31.
Revenue of $244M (-4.7% Y/Y) misses by $35.48M.
