Alphabet Shares Rise After Judge Rejects DOJ Bid to Force AdX Sale
Key Takeaways
- •Judge Leonie Brinkema rejected the DOJ’s request to require Google to divest AdX.
- •The court ordered Google to make operational changes to its advertising business, but the specific remedies were not disclosed.
- •The ruling follows an April 2025 decision finding Google unlawfully monopolized two advertising technology markets.
- •AdX is the marketplace used for real-time bidding when publishers sell advertising inventory, and Google charges a 20% commission to use it.
- •Alphabet shares rose about 1.01% on Wednesday after the decision, and the stock is up 45% over the past 12 months.
Alphabet (GOOGL) shares rose about 1% on Wednesday after a federal court rejected the Department of Justice’s request to require Google to divest its AdX advertising exchange platform.
Judge Leonie Brinkema issued her decision in a sealed ruling, along with a brief order denying the DOJ’s divestiture request. A redacted public version is expected to be released later.
Rather than ordering a sale, Brinkema directed Google to make operational changes to its advertising business. The exact details of those required changes have not been disclosed.
The ruling follows an April 2025 decision that Google had unlawfully monopolized two separate advertising technology markets. In that case, the DOJ asked the court to force the sale of AdX and require Google to make its ad auction algorithms public.
The DOJ sought to break up part of Google’s advertising technology infrastructure. AdX is the marketplace where publishers sell advertising inventory through real-time bidding each time users load webpages.
Google charges publishers a 20% commission to use the platform. Even so, AdX represents a relatively small share of Alphabet’s overall revenue, which helps explain why the divestiture fight focused more on control of the ad-tech stack than on a major direct revenue contributor.
The court’s decision allows Google to keep ownership of AdX and avoids a forced divestiture of a key part of its advertising business. The unresolved question now is how the undisclosed operational remedies will be implemented and whether the public version of the ruling will clarify what changes Google must make.
This is the second time Alphabet has avoided a DOJ attempt to force a breakup. The first case targeted Google’s search business and also ended without a corporate dissolution.
GOOGL shares have gained 45% over the past 12 months leading up to the ruling.
Analyst sentiment remains positive. Among 30 analysts covering the stock, the consensus rating is Strong Buy, including 25 Buy ratings and five Hold ratings issued over the past quarter.
The average analyst price target is $422.59, which implies about 23% upside from current trading levels.
The stock rose about 1.01% on Wednesday after the court’s decision.
