Alphabet: Remedies Proposed in the Google Search Case Do Not Pose a Material Risk

Key Morningstar Metrics for Alphabet

• Fair Value Estimate: $237
• Morningstar Rating: ★★★★
• Morningstar Economic Moat Rating: Wide
• Morningstar Uncertainty Rating: Medium

Alphabet Avoids Forced Divestiture of Chrome and Android

On Sept. 2, a federal judge published his proposed remedies in the Google Search antitrust case. Alphabet GOOGL won’t be required to divest Chrome or Android. The company will not be allowed to have exclusive search agreements and will need to engage in modest data sharing with competitors.

Why it matters: The Google Search case and the court’s remedies have been hanging over Alphabet’s head. With this ruling, investors can breathe a sigh of relief, knowing that no value-destructive remedies were proposed.

• Our view, which we iterated in various notes published in August, October, and November of 2024, as well as in February, April, and July of 2025, was largely ratified by the judgment. We had previously highlighted that the likely remedies would be behavioral in nature.
• At the same time, even the imposition of these remedies is not immediate, with an Alphabet appeal to this case likely elongating the process by a few years. This elongation will occur as the search market continues to evolve, likely leading to an overall dilution of the proposed remedies.

The bottom line: We maintain our $237 fair value estimate as our base-case outlook, as the antitrust opinion largely upholds our outlook. With shares jumping 7% following the decision, we now view Alphabet as fairly valued, with the stock up more than 50% from its April lows.

• We believe that with this crucial remedies opinion out of the way, Alphabet can focus more clearly on its search business while aggressively integrating artificial intelligence features as the search market transforms from traditional to AI-first search.