A federal jury decided on Monday that Google's app store has benefitted from anticompetitive behavior, but it could take a long time before the company faces any potential changes to the Google Play store, and those changes are likely to hurt revenue significantly. That said, the ruling could give more ammunition to other antitrust cases against the company, even though those cases will likely take years to reach a resolution. Epic Games originally sued Google in 2020, alleging it uses its dominant position as the developer of Android to strike deals with handset makers and collect excess fees from consumers. Google collects between 15% and 30% for all digital purchases made through its storefront. Epic tried to bypass those fees by charging users directly for purchases in the popular game Fortnite; Google then booted the game out of its store, spurring the lawsuit. After a four-week trial in a northern California federal court Monday, a jury unanimously found that Google had acquired and maintained monopoly power in the Android app distribution market, as well as the in-app billing market for digital goods and services transactions. Epic filed a similar suit against Apple but lost in federal appeals court in April. In an interview with CNBC, Epic CEO Tim Sweeney attributed the win to revelations during the trial that Google had allegedly deleted or failed to keep records such as chats about its secretive deals with app makers. He also noted that it had been a jury trial, while the Apple case was decided by a judge. The decision comes as Google faces two separate Justice Department suits in Virginia and Washington, D. C., related to allegedly anticompetitive behavior. Judge James Donato of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California will decide on remedies in the next phase in the coming months. Google could be forced to change its Play Store rules, which is what Epic asked for as opposed to monetary relief. The company doesn't break out Google Play revenue separately, but it is included in its "Google Services" segment, which brought in $67.99 billion in the third quarter of 2023 — an increase from $61.38 billion the year prior. It earns money from consumer in-app purchases and subscriptions. A Wells Fargo analyst note Tuesday estimates Google will book $38.5 billion in Google Play Store billings in 2023. That's about 13% of the company's total expected revenue of $305.7 billion for the year, according to estimates from LSEG (formerly Refinitiv). Epic's victory could force Google to change its app store billing model, so it could no longer force app makers to use Google's billing system as a condition for distribution through the Play Store. It could also force Google to make changes to its Android commission, where it charges a 15% to 30% fee on digital goods and services purchased within apps.


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