Barclays stated that if the USA Department of Justice against $Alphabet-C (GOOG.US)$ the antitrust lawsuit proceeds as it is currently, $Apple (AAPL.US)$ it may ultimately suffer "collateral damage."

Last week, the U.S. Department of Justice officially requested Google to divest the Chrome browser. Court documents show that the U.S. Department of Justice requested the judge to order Google to divest the Chrome browser and prohibit Google from re-entering the browser market for the next five years. The U.S. Department of Justice also asked the judge to require Google to divest the Android operating system if other remedies fail to restore competition. Furthermore, the U.S. Department of Justice seeks to stop Google from paying billions of dollars to Apple to ensure that it becomes the default search engine on Apple devices; seeks to prohibit Google from acquiring or investing in any search competitors, query-based AI products, or advertising technologies. Google, however, stated that the Department of Justice's request goes beyond legal boundaries, will harm consumers, developers, and America's technological leadership.

In addition, the U.S. Department of Justice is seeking for Google to stop paying Apple billions of dollars to ensure becoming the default search engine on Apple devices; seeking to prohibit Google from acquiring or investing in any search competitors, query-based AI products, or advertising technologies. Google stated that the Department of Justice's request goes far beyond legal boundaries, will harm consumers, developers, and America's technological leadership.

Barclays Bank analyst Tim Long stated: 'Although Apple is not directly involved in the legal dispute between Google and the U.S. Department of Justice, the outcome could have a significant impact on Apple's business model.' The analyst pointed out that the flow acquisition cost revenue paid by Google to Apple may be affected, which is a major concern for Apple as it is believed to account for about 15% of Apple's operating profit. The analyst downgraded Apple to 'shareholding' rating with a target price of $184.

However, the analyst added 'Although the initial data is quite unfavorable to Apple in terms of revenue and profit, the situation may change, and over time, Apple may compensate for the loss of revenue with its own ad stack.' The analyst further cautioned that even though the litigation may go through years of appeals and take years to resolve, some are concerned that given the 'lack of substantial disclosure in this business,' this ratio may be even higher.

Editor/rice