According to The Verge, Google faced a potential disaster in 2025 with three major antitrust lawsuits threatening to break up its Chrome browser and ad tech business under a Trump administration DOJ. Judge Amit Mehta ruled against forcing a Chrome sale, instead requiring a one-time sale of a subset of search data to rivals. In October, Google posted its first-ever quarter with over $100 billion in revenue and $31 billion in income. Its AI models, including the video generator Veo 3 and the flagship Gemini 3, became major successes, with Gemini 3’s launch reportedly causing a “code red” at OpenAI. The company also settled with Epic Games over Android app store fees and is negotiating a settlement in its ad tech case, while reportedly making donations to a White House ballroom fund.
The Great Legal Dodge
Here’s the thing: Google basically spent 2025 playing the world’s most expensive game of chicken with the U.S. government, and it won. The worst-case scenario—a forced breakup—is now looking incredibly unlikely. Judge Mehta calling a Chrome spin-off “incredibly messy and highly risky” was a massive win. So was the judge hinting in the ad tech case that behavioral fixes are better than structural ones. It feels like the political and judicial winds that were blowing toward breaking up Big Tech have just… calmed down. At the perfect time for Google.
And let’s talk about that search data remedy. Selling data at marginal cost sounds bad for Google, right? But it’s a one-time sale of a subset, not a firehose. Critics are right to call it toothless. It’s a symbolic slap on the wrist compared to the amputation they were facing. Google’s even appealing the monopoly ruling itself, so they might not have to do even that. The status quo is a powerful force, and Google’s lawyers are masters at preserving it.
AI’s Costly Gamble Pays Off (For Now)
While fighting legal battles, Google was also burning tens of billions on AI. That’s a terrifying bet when you think about it. They’re actively funding the technology that could kill their golden goose: search advertising. But in 2025, that bet started to look smart. Gemini 3 wasn’t just good; it was good enough to panic Sam Altman. Veo 3 owned social media before Sora even got going. That’s momentum.
But where’s the money? Right now, it’s in the cloud. That $15 billion Google Cloud revenue number is the tell. AI is driving businesses to their cloud platform, and that’s a huge, growing income stream. Unlike pure-play AI companies burning cash, Google has its colossal ad engine to fund this war. They can lose money on AI models for years if it means locking enterprises into Google Cloud. It’s a long game, and they have the bank to play it.
The Android and Trump Wildcards
The Epic settlement is fascinating. Google’s basically negotiating the terms of its own punishment. Lower fees and “Registered App Stores” worldwide? That’s a controlled demolition versus having the court blow up their business model. They’re trying to manage the change and, crucially, keep control of the Android ecosystem. Why? Because an Android-powered PC OS is coming in 2026. They need the platform unified and under their thumb for that to work.
Then there’s the Trump of it all. The report about Google and YouTube contributing to the White House ballroom fund is… well, it’s just business. A “happy president never hurts,” as The Verge puts it. It’s a stark reminder that in these antitrust wars, the courtroom is only one battlefield. The court of public and political opinion matters just as much. When you’re a company operating at this scale, everything is connected.
What Comes After Survival?
So Google survived 2025. Actually, it thrived. But what now? The legal threats are diminished but not gone. The AI arms race is more expensive than ever. And that search business, while still a money printer, is now under direct assault from AI-native players.
Google’s 2025 playbook was defense in court, offense in AI. The scary part is they have to keep executing on both fronts indefinitely. The hardware wins with Pixel and the upcoming Ironwood TPU chips they’ll sell directly show they’re building a full-stack empire. They’re not just making software; they’re making the silicon, the cloud infrastructure, and the devices. In a world where computing power is the new oil, that’s a formidable position. But it’s also a massive target. 2025 was a comeback year. The question is, can they turn this into a new era of dominance, or was it just a lucky escape?
