GOOGL Stock Down 2.8%, Google Cuts Subscriptions Fee on Google Play Store from 30% to 15%

UTC by Steve Muchoki · 3 min read
GOOGL Stock Down 2.8%, Google Cuts Subscriptions Fee on Google Play Store from 30% to 15%
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Google Play store subscription fee will drop from 30% to 15% from day one, however, developers will have to pay 30% for the first 12 months.

Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ: GOOGL) stock was trading around $2,797.14, down approximately 2% as of October 22, 2021, 8:32 a.m EDT, before the markets opened on Friday in New York. As the market opened, the stock is 2.76% down. The dip follows the company’s earnings call that is scheduled for October 26, 2021, four days ahead. Otherwise, GOOGL shareholders continued the last month’s sell-off after attaining ATH. Notably, Google said on Thursday that it’s lowering service fees in its Play Store. A similar move was made by Apple after bending to the pressure from regulators, both in the United States and internationally.

According to news outlet CNBC, the Google Play store subscriptions fee will drop from 30% to 15% from day one, however, developers will have to pay 30% for the first 12 months. The company noted that almost all developers are eligible for the 15% service fee.

A move indicates Silicon Valley big tech companies are getting pressure from regulators due to their huge market dominance. A similar situation can be seen after the former United States President Donald J Trump announced a new media outlet dubbed TRUTH Social.

Notably, SPAC company Digital World Acquisition Corp (NASDAQ: DWAC) announced a definitive merger agreement with Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG) for the venture, whereby they committed up to $1.7 billion.

Attorneys general from 36 states and the District of Columbia, coming from both parties recently filed an antitrust lawsuit claiming Google abused its power over app developers through its Play Store on Android.

The pressure is also coming from the decentralized financial developers who are seeking blockchain technology as an alternative for app development.

GOOGL Stock amid the News on Google Play Store Subscription Fee Cut

GOOGL stock market has gained approximately 73.78%, 61.91%, and 6.67% in the past year, YTD, and three months respectively through Friday. However, the company’s stock market has dropped approximately 0.23%, after regaining partial loss of last month’s drop.

According to the company’s Q2 earnings results, the board approved up to $50 billion in a stock buyback program. A measure that is mostly implemented by a company to avoid share price devaluation. Thereby indicating the GOOGL shareholders are skeptical of the future.

However, not so to Wall Street analysts according to a survey conducted by MarketWatch as 47 ratings gave the company’s stock market an average rating of Buy.

Speaking during the 21Q2 earnings call, Ruth Porat, CFO of Google and Alphabet said:

“Our strong second-quarter revenues of $61.9 billion reflect elevated consumer online activity and broad-based strength in advertiser spend. Again, we benefited from excellent execution across the board by our teams.”

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