Shares of Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL), Google's parent company, climbed nearly 2% to a new all-time high of $338 on Tuesday. The surge followed the company's filing of a motion to dismiss a significant antitrust lawsuit from Penske Media Corporation, publisher of Rolling Stone, Billboard, and Variety. The lawsuit, originally filed in 2025, alleges Google violated antitrust laws by forcing publishers to allow AI-generated summaries of their content to appear in search results via its AI Overviews feature.
Investors reacted positively to Google's legal strategy, interpreting it as a move to avoid a protracted and costly battle. The case centers on whether Google's AI Overviews, which automatically generate summaries from publisher content at the top of search results, constitute an anti-competitive 'tying' of services. Penske argues publishers have limited ability to opt out without losing search visibility, as the manual web filter requires activation for every individual query and does not preserve indexing like traditional listings.
Concurrently, CNBC's Jim Cramer issued a bullish forecast, predicting Alphabet stock could reach $400 per share, representing roughly 20% upside. Cramer cited the company's multi-year partnership with Apple to integrate Gemini AI models as a key growth driver, calling Gemini 3 a "home run." This deal has helped cement Alphabet's position in the $4 trillion market-cap club alongside Nvidia, Microsoft, and Apple.
Bank of America noted that for the rally to continue, Alphabet must maintain Gemini's technological leadership, leverage cost advantages from custom AI chips, and increase search monetization. The stock has been a standout, gaining nearly 5% to start 2026 after a 65% rally in 2025, outperforming other 'Magnificent 7' tech stocks.
The lawsuit and the AI-driven growth narrative highlight the broader tension between AI innovation and content ownership. A ruling in favor of Penske could set a precedent for publisher rights in the AI search ecosystem, while the shift from clicks to citations is already creating new SEO analytics opportunities.
