Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) (NASDAQ:GOOG) has faced its share of antitrust suits before, and it likely will continue to face such suits for some time to come. With that in mind, the latest news from Bloomberg about a new set of “massive new fines” coming soon to the search engine giant only comes as so much of a surprise. The news didn’t slow investors down much, however, as Alphabet was up slightly in Monday afternoon’s trading.
This time around, the European Union plans to slap Alphabet with huge new fines over Alphabet’s advertising business. For the high crime of using “anti-competitive practices” as part of its advertising technology, Alphabet will wind up with a bill for around $8.6 billion. Reports from “people familiar with the matter” note that the fine is intended to “send a message” and “target the core of the ad tech business model.”
Indeed, Alphabet is no stranger to European fines. Or fines in general; back in March, Alphabet tried to get a U.S. Justice Department lawsuit dismissed around its online advertising and alleged abuse therein. Further, Alphabet also faced a €4.125 billion lawsuit over its Android business, which Alphabet is continuing to fight in European courts. Considering that, back in late April, Alphabet offered its first-quarter earnings report that featured revenue of $69.79 billion, Google will hardly be broken by the loss of around $8 billion in revenue. Assuming, of course, the fine ever actually sticks.
Analysts are unfazed by this development. With 29 Buy ratings and two Holds, Alphabet stock is considered a Strong Buy by analyst consensus. With an average price target of $130.77, however, it offers little upside potential.