Heightened antitrust scrutiny against Big Tech companies forces us to carefully consider the Justice Department’s lawsuit against Alphabet (GOOGL) and the potential implications for this Club stake and other mega-caps.
Jim Cramer sat down with Jonathan Kanter, assistant attorney general for the Justice Department’s antitrust division, in an exclusive “Mad Money” interview on Monday. While Kanter said he couldn’t comment on the government’s case against Alphabet because it was ongoing, he provided some insight into how he enforces antitrust law in today’s market.
Kanter pointed out, more broadly, that he investigates cases to “determine whether a company’s conduct prevents others from competing effectively without providing the benefits to market participants.” Kanter left no doubt that if he thinks a company is exhibiting classic monopoly practices as defined by the Sherman Antitrust Act, he will pursue it until management changes its ways.
As Kanter put it, “Does it lessen competition or does it tend to create a monopoly?” If, he continued, either risk is present, the department will pursue legal action against the company. Her case explores various ways Alphabet has thwarted the online advertising market to the detriment of advertisers and publishers.
Although Kanter made it clear that there could be no direct comment on the matter, Jim Cramer believes this has hurt the assessment of this Charitable Trust name. Jim and Jeff Marks intend to discuss what Kanter’s general comments mean for Alphabet and others in what he calls the Magnificent Seven in their Morning meeting tomorrow at 10:20 a.m. ET.
(Jim Cramer’s Charitable Trust is long GOOGL. See here for a complete stock list.)
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