Alphabet Inc. faced a significant legal setback as the European Union's top court upheld a record antitrust fine of €4.1 billion ($4.67 billion) over anti-competitive practices related to the Android operating system. The Court of Justice of the European Union rejected Google's appeal against the 2018 decision by the European Commission, confirming the penalty imposed for abusing Android's market dominance to favor its own apps. Reacting to the ruling, Google stated it had already updated its agreements in 2018 to comply with the original decision and remains focused on innovation and openness for users, partners, and developers.

EU court upholds Android fine

The Court of Justice dismissed the appeal brought by Google and Alphabet, thereby confirming the penalty imposed on them for their anticompetitive practices relating to the Android operating system. This decision affirms the earlier findings that Google leveraged its dominant position to restrict competition. The search engine giant's shares fell 1.03% in pre-market trading following the announcement.

Swedish court orders damages

In a separate ruling on Wednesday, Stockholm’s Patent and Market Court ordered Google to pay approximately $1.97 billion in damages to Klarna Group plc's PriceRunner unit. The court found that Google unfairly favored its own comparison-shopping service in search results, harming competitors and consumers. This substantial award adds to the mounting financial and regulatory pressure on the company in Europe.

US and South Korean scrutiny

The legal challenges extended beyond Europe. On Tuesday, a U.S. magistrate judge ruled that Google is barred from re-litigating whether it holds monopoly power in the general search market. This decision provides Yelp Inc. a significant advantage in its ongoing antitrust suit, as jurors will be instructed on Google's monopoly status without requiring Yelp to prove it at trial. Additionally, South Korea’s antitrust regulator alleged that Google abused its dominant position in the Android app marketplace to restrict competition, with a potential fine of up to $546 million.

Key case details

Market reaction

Following the news of the EU ruling, Google shares fell 1.03% in pre-market trading. However, at the time of publication, shares were trading 0.58% lower at $355.82, reflecting a relatively muted market response to the aggregate of the week's adverse legal developments.

On CNBC’s Mad Money Lightning Round, Jim Cramer endorsed Medline Inc. (NASDAQ: MDLN), calling it probably the best IPO of the year. Medline is scheduled to report second-quarter financial results on Wednesday, Aug. 5, with analysts expecting earnings of 32 cents per share on revenue of $7.52 billion. The stock gained 5.8% to close at $41.73.

Cramer also expressed support for AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ: ASTS), describing it as a great speculative stock with potential returns in two years. The company announced that its next three BlueBird satellites are targeted to launch aboard a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida, in the first half of August to expand its space-based cellular broadband network. AST SpaceMobile shares fell 3.1% to settle at $86.10.

Regarding the power sector, Cramer stated that NuScale Power Corporation (NYSE: SMR) is too speculative for his taste, preferring GE Vernova Inc. (NYSE: GEV) as a safer alternative. NuScale Power will review second-quarter results on Wednesday, Aug. 5, with analysts projecting a loss of 13 cents per share on revenue of $14.71 million. NuScale shares gained 1.2% to settle at $10.15.

Price Action Summary