Markets: Stocks were mixed yesterday, with the S&P 500 up a tad but the Dow down more than 500 points after UnitedHealth’s shocking earnings miss tanked the entire index. The Nasdaq dropped, too, but not nearly as much as in Wednesday’s rout.
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Google probably feels like flipping the board over and ruining family game night right now. The Alphabet-owned tech giant lostanother antitrust case yesterday when US District Judge Leonie Brinkema ruled that it ran an illegal ad tech monopoly.
It’s been a long time coming. Two years ago, a group of eight states (with nine more joining the suit later) and the Justice Department sued Google, accusing it of monopolizing the tools that advertisers and publishers use to power the internet.
At a three-week trial in September, the DOJ argued that Google tied its ad server (the tech that publishers use to run ads) to its ad exchanges (the software that publishers and advertisers use to buy and sell ads) through exclusive deals that forced publishers into the Google ecosystem:
The DOJ alleged that Google’s ad server holds 87% of the US market share and 91% of the global share.
The lawsuit also accused Google of buying up rivals to prevent competition and encouraging employees to delete conversations that would incriminate the company for using anti-competitive methods.
This is the second time in eight months that the company has been deemed a monopoly in court. Last year, a judge ruled that Google had monopolized the online search market and floated the idea of ordering the company to divest Chrome. We’ll know the web browser’s fate when that case’s remedy begins on Monday.
As for Google’s ad tech business…Brinkema’s decision could mean that the world’s largest advertiser will be forced to split up. The tech company may ultimately have to offload some of its ad tech business, which accounts for nearly 12% of its total revenue.—MM
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UnitedHealth stock crashed after dismal earnings report. Shares for the health giant fell by the most in 26 years when it unexpectedly cut its annual forecast due to rising medical costs. It was the company’s first earnings miss in more than a decade, Bloomberg reported. UnitedHealth blamed the miss on a much higher number of Medicare wellness and follow-up visits than it had anticipated. Recent changes to Medicare have sought to prevent insurers from juicing their revenues, and UnitedHealth admitted it’s been slow to adapt. The company is also still reeling from industry-wide backlash stemming from the December murder of the CEO of its insurance division, Brian Thompson.
SpaceX is reportedly the favorite to build Trump’s “Golden Dome.” According to Reuters, Elon Musk’s space tech company is the frontrunner to lead the development of President Trump’s proposed missile defense system, known as Golden Dome. SpaceX would partner with tech startups Palantir and Anduril, whose founders, like Musk, are major supporters of the president. The plan is reportedly to launch between 400 and 1,000 satellites around the world to detect and track missiles, while a separate phalanx of attack satellites would shoot them down. Per Reuters, SpaceX proposed creating a “subscription service” in which the US government would pay to access the Golden Dome instead of owning it.
Eli Lilly said its weight loss pill passed a key test. The maker of Zepbound and Mounjaro said a daily pill to treat obesity and diabetes showed promising results in late-stage trials, bringing the industry closer to offering a needle-free alternative to the popular GLP-1 medications. The pill version, called orforglipron, helps patients lower their body weight and blood sugar about as well as injectables like Zepbound and Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic do. The company plans to file for regulatory approval by the end of the year.—AE
Jerome Powell drew the ire of President Donald Trump yesterday, with the leader of the free world posting to social media, “Powell’s termination cannot come fast enough!”
Trump’s latest frustration arose as the European Central Bank lowered its borrowing rates, while the Fed chair said Wednesday that the US should wait to cut interest rates until the full effects of tariffs on inflation become clearer. But the president’s desire to dispatch Powell dates back to his first term.
Per the Wall Street Journal, it’s been the subject of an ongoing internal conversation at the White House for months, with some advising Trump against it—including former Fed Governor Kevin Warsh, who has reportedly been considered as a potential replacement. In November, JPow responded to a question about hypothetically being fired with a terse, “Not permitted under the law.”
About that law…
A pending Supreme Court case is considering whether the president can fire two members of traditionally independent labor boards. Should the court uphold those sackings, it could open the door for dismissing Powell and eroding the Fed’s independence.
However, Powell has said he doesn’t believe the ruling would apply.
Zoom out: Powell’s term at the top runs until May 2026, and any attempt to oust him would likely end up at the Supreme Court—possibly with Powell still at the reins while he appealed.—DL
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The streaming giant that brought you Is It Cake? blew past investors’ expectations yesterday, reporting 25% earnings growth for Q1 that backed up Wall Street’s new theory: Netflix may be largely immune from the tariff volatility roiling the rest of the market.
“There’s been no material change to our overall business outlook” since last quarter, Netflix said.
Vindication: Investors are bullish on the streaming giant coasting through a potential recession because it doesn’t rely on imports or exports, it’s profitable (unlike most competitors), and it boasts the industry’s biggest audience at 300+ million global subscribers.
Plus…
When consumers cut back on nonessential spending, streaming services are typically the last to go, analysts say.
Netflix is the most popular way to watch TV in the living room, followed by YouTube and basic cable, according to a TD Cowen survey.
The company’s stock is up nearly 10% so far this year, while the S&P 500 has fallen 10%.
Going forward…Netflix isn’t sharing quarterly subscriber numbers anymore, leaving it “free to focus solely on revenue growth,” a Wedbush analyst wrote last week. The company wants to double its revenue and join the $1 trillion market cap club by 2030, in part by juicing ad sales via more lower-tier subscriptions and live sports…though a recession likely would chill ad spending.—ML
When E.T. phones home, he might be calling collect to K2-18b, an exoplanet 124 light-years (730 trillion miles) away that scientists believe could harbor life.
Using data from the James Webb Space Telescope, researchers at Cambridge University detected evidence of chemicals in the planet’s atmosphere that are only produced by living organisms like marine phytoplankton (as far as we know). That means K2-18b could be a “hycean world,” aka a planet with a liquid water ocean and hydrogen-rich atmosphere.
But don’t book your Blue Origin flight yet. Scientists caution that more research is needed to confirm the presence of the compounds. Still, it’s a promising initial step toward discovering a new lifeform that can be slapped with tariffs.—AE
Today’s Word of the Day is: phalanx, meaning “a mass military formation.” Thanks to Richard from Sheridan, WY, for the suggestion. Submit another Word of the Day here.
✢ A Note From SmartAsset
1. The Journal of Retirement (winter 2020). The projections or other information regarding the likelihood of various investment outcomes are hypothetical in nature, do not reflect actual investment results, and are not guarantees of your future results. Please follow the link to see the methodologies employed in The Journal of Retirement study.
UnitedHealth stock crashed after dismal earnings report. Shares for the health giant fell by the most 
SpaceX is reportedly the favorite to build Trump’s “Golden Dome.” According to Reuters, Elon Musk’s space tech company is the frontrunner to lead the development of President Trump’s proposed 
Eli Lilly said its weight loss pill passed a key test. The maker of Zepbound and Mounjaro said a daily pill to treat obesity and diabetes showed 
Spring clean: Some of Morning Brew’s 
