Class A and C shares of Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOGL) (NASDAQ: GOOG) have sunk today, down by 5% and 4% as of 12:10 p.m. EDT, respectively, following a report that Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) is ramping up its development of a competing search engine. CEO Sundar Pichai is also testifying today in front of Congress to discuss Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act.
Google has long paid Apple billions of dollars per year to be the default search engine in iOS, a lucrative deal for both tech juggernauts that has come under scrutiny from antitrust regulators. The Department of Justice formally filed an antitrust complaint against Google just a few days ago, arguing that the arrangement undermines competition. Details around the deal are closely guarded: Apple previously refused to tell Congress how much it gets from Google, but analysts estimate that it could be as much as $12 billion.
Image source: Google.
Source Fool.com