Google Antitrust Case Exposes Cost of Dominance

Market Overview
Read time 1.9 minutes

Year To Date Performances:

1. Sundar Pichai, CEO of Alphabet, recently revealed that Google shares 36% of its search revenue generated through Safari with Apple, underlining the significance of their agreement to set Google as the default search engine. This detail, which is a key aspect of the ongoing antitrust allegations against Google, came to light during a separate lawsuit involving Epic Games and Google. An expert testifying for Google inadvertently disclosed this percentage in a public court session, leading to the revelation that Google's compensation to Samsung, its primary Android hardware partner, is less than half of what it pays Apple. While Pichai indicated uncertainty about the exact figures, Google's Traffic Acquisition Costs (TAC) in 2022 totaled around $49 billion, encompassing payments to companies like Apple and Samsung to maintain Google's search engine prominence.

2. In a groundbreaking move, the PGA Tour announced plans to offer professional golfers direct equity ownership in a new company formed after finalizing an investment agreement. According to an internal memo obtained by CNBC, the Tour is currently negotiating with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, owner of LIV Golf, and the DP World Tour. PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan emphasized in the memo that these discussions are a top priority. The proposed consolidation of golf leagues' business interests, which had previously sparked controversy and Senate investigations over concerns of Saudi Arabia's growing influence in U.S. sports, is now taking a significant step forward. The initiative, as detailed in the memo, aims to closely align PGA Tour players with the league's commercial success, offering them an unprecedented opportunity in professional sports: direct equity ownership in the league's business operations.

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4. Headlines

   1. Mortgage demand is at a five-week high, a positive signal for the housing market.

   2. Monster Beverage has been the best-performing stock over the last 20 years, averaging a 39% annual return.

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   ¹ Count determined as the number of unique email addresses in StartEngine’s database as of 10-6-2023.}

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