What will a broken-up Google look like?

The US courts have ruled that Google is a monopoly, leaving it facing the prospect of a break-up. WIll that be a good thing?

Social Media Apps Through The Broken Glass
(Image credit: NurPhoto / Contributor)

The US courts have ruled that Google is, in effect, a monopoly. That will probably not come as a great surprise. Most of us have probably noticed that the company completely dominates search on the internet, that it has at least half the mobile market and that from maps, to email, to media, it has an effective lock on how we all use the web. Last week, the Department of Justice in the US went a step further, arguing that the only way to fix that was for the business to be broken up. What might that look like? 

The most obvious division would be a three-way split into Search, Android and Media, with each one turned into a stand-alone company. Instead of one giant conglomerate, there would be three far smaller companies. That would have a huge impact on investors. Google’s parent, Alphabet, is a $2 trillion company, and every portfolio probably has some shares in it somewhere. Whether the split would prove good or bad will depend on how the new companies were valued. Presumably, each existing share would be split into three shares, one in each of the new companies. Put them all together and they might even be worth more than before the break-up. 

Subscribe to MoneyWeek

Subscribe to MoneyWeek today and get your first six magazine issues absolutely FREE

Get 6 issues free
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/mw70aro6gl1676370748.jpg

Sign up to Money Morning

Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter

Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter

Sign up
Matthew Lynn

Matthew Lynn is a columnist for Bloomberg, and writes weekly commentary syndicated in papers such as the Daily Telegraph, Die Welt, the Sydney Morning Herald, the South China Morning Post and the Miami Herald. He is also an associate editor of Spectator Business, and a regular contributor to The Spectator. Before that, he worked for the business section of the Sunday Times for ten years. 

He has written books on finance and financial topics, including Bust: Greece, The Euro and The Sovereign Debt Crisis and The Long Depression: The Slump of 2008 to 2031. Matthew is also the author of the Death Force series of military thrillers and the founder of Lume Books, an independent publisher.