Google won, Apple smiled

The ruling in the Google antitrust case is out, and Apple may become a bigger winner.

On September 2, U.S. District Judge Amit P. Mehta ruled in the Google antitrust case that it does not have to sell its Chrome browser, and more importantly, allowed Google to continue its partnership with Apple in search engine services.

This not only ensures Google's position as the default search engine on Apple devices but reportedly also provides Apple with over $20 billion in valuable revenue each year.

Previously, the U.S. government alleged that these payments from Google to Apple reduced competition, as few other companies in the search engine industry could afford to pay comparable amounts to Google. However, Judge Amit Mehta countered:

Prohibiting these payments would actually enhance Google's power, as it would allow Google to freely access Apple's vast user base.

Therefore, the court allowed Google to continue paying fees to Apple, provided that there are no exclusivity clauses, theoretically opening the door for competitors to enter these devices. Craig Moffett, an analyst at MoffettNathanson, commented:

Apple dodged not a bullet, but a missile.

On Wednesday, both Apple and Google saw their stocks rise, with Google surging over 9%, and both companies helped push the Nasdaq up by 1%.

Apple Maintains High-Profit "Cash Cow"

The $20 billion that Google pays each year, while only accounting for about 5% of Apple's total annual revenue, contributes much more to the company's profits.

This is mainly because the incremental costs incurred by Apple to obtain this revenue are extremely low.

Data shows that in the 12 months ending June this year, Apple's services segment, including Google licensing payments, had a gross margin of 75%. In contrast, the gross margin for Apple's hardware business during the same period was 37%.

At this juncture, losing such a high-profit revenue stream would be a heavy blow for Apple.

Ruling Comes at a Critical Time for Apple

This ruling comes at a difficult time for Apple.

The iPhone, which is a pillar of the company's revenue, has seen an average annual revenue growth rate of only 2% over the past three years, showing signs of fatigue.

Meanwhile, due to Apple's relatively slow progress in the generative artificial intelligence field, market expectations for the upcoming new iPhone are low.

Analysts predict that iPhone revenue growth will be less than 4% in the fiscal year ending next September.

Additionally, Apple is currently at the center of trade tensions, with President Trump publicly pressuring the company to move its manufacturing back to the costly United States.

Under multiple pressures, Apple's stock price has continued to be under pressure; despite a significant rise in stock price yesterday, it is still down 2.2% for the year.

Legal Risks Have Not Been Completely Eliminated

Despite significant victories, both companies have not fully escaped regulatory challenges.

Google still faces other cases in the United States and Europe. At the same time, the oversight body appointed by Judge Mehta may also find that Google has failed to fulfill its obligations.

Apple is also not out of the woods. Judge Mehta stated:

If the remedies imposed by the court do not substantially restore competition, he is prepared to reconsider the payment injunction.

However, there is no doubt that this ruling constitutes a significant boon for both companies.

It helps Google, which has been undervalued by investors due to legal challenges, to shed some burdens, while also allowing Apple to avoid losing a significant portion of operating profit in the context of needing to invest heavily in artificial intelligence.

For these two tech giants, maintaining the status quo is already the best outcome