07:14 AM EDT, 09/03/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Alphabet's (GOOG, GOOGL) shares rose early Wednesday after a federal court judge ruled that the technology giant's Google ( GOOG ) will not be required to divest its Chrome web browser over competition concerns, and can continue making preload product payments to its distribution partners.

US District Court for the District of Columbia Judge Amit Mehta decided that Google ( GOOG ) will not be required to offload Chrome, as sought by the Department of Justice, and will also avoid a contingent divestiture of its android operating system, according to a late Tuesday court ruling. The DOJ reportedly filed an antitrust case against Google ( GOOG ) in 2020, claiming the company allegedly breached anti-monopoly laws.

Mehta determined on Tuesday that the regulator "overreached in seeking forced divesture of these key assets, which Google ( GOOG ) did not use to effect any illegal restraints." The DOJ also didn't provide any "evidence to justify a contingent structural remedy," according to Mehta.

Alphabet's class A and B stock climbed 5.6% and 5.9%, respectively, in the most recent premarket activity.

In August 2024, Mehta found that Google ( GOOG ) illegally held a monopoly in search and text advertising markets. However, much has changed since that liability trial with the emergence of artificial intelligence technology, especially generative AI companies, increasing competition among search engines, Mehta said Tuesday.

Mehta ordered all parties to submit a revised final judgment consistent with his opinion by Sept. 10.

The court's decision "recognizes how much the industry has changed through the advent of AI, which is giving people so many more ways to find information," Google ( GOOG ) said in a Tuesday blog post. "This underlines what we've been saying since this case was filed in 2020: Competition is intense and people can easily choose the services they want."

Mehta also ruled on Tuesday that Google ( GOOG ) will not be stopped from making payments to distribution partners for preloading or placement of Google Search, Chrome or its generative AI products, as that move could "impose substantial -- in some cases, crippling -- downstream harms to distribution partners." This decision means the company's $20 billion search deal with Apple ( AAPL ) "will remain and not be barred in its current form," Wedbush Securities said in a client note.

At the same time, the court ruled that Google ( GOOG ) will be barred from entering or maintaining exclusive contracts for the distribution of Google Search, Chrome, Google Assistant and the Gemini app. The company will also have to make certain search index and user-interaction data available to "qualified competitors" and offer them search and search text ads syndication services.

"The court has imposed limits on how we distribute Google ( GOOG ) services, and will require us to share Search data with rivals," according to Google ( GOOG ). The company said it is concerned about the impact of these requirements on its users and is reviewing the decision closely.

"The Justice Department's Antitrust Division won significant remedies in its monopolization case against Google ( GOOG ) in online search," the regulator said in a separate statement. "The court's ruling today recognizes the need for remedies that will pry open the market for general search services, which has been frozen in place for over a decade."

The court's decision is broadly in favor of Google ( GOOG ) as it has ruled against the "most severe remedy proposals," Wedbush said in a separate client note. The brokerage said it is "increasingly constructive" over the long-term durability of Google's ( GOOG ) search business.

Wedbush maintained its outperform rating on Alphabet's stock and raised its 12-month price target on the tech giant to $245 from $225.