Google parent Alphabet could suffer a 10% blow to its stock should the U.S. government target a host of technology companies with antitrust and business practice probes, venture capitalist Gene Munster predicted Tuesday.
The results of the investigations could take years and the impact on Alphabet’s stock could be even worse in that time, the former longtime tech analyst and founder of Loup Ventures added on CNBC’s “The Exchange. ” “Google clearly is at some risk here” for more regulation.
Worries the U.S. government wants to slap more regulations on big tech companies weighed on tech stocks Monday and pushed the Nasdaq into a correction, more than 10% lower since its record closing high last month. Alphabet shares pulled back 6.1% after reports said the Justice Department is preparing to launch an antitrust probe on Google.
President Donald Trump has been critical of big tech, including accusing Google of political bias in its search results.
Apple and Amazon, whose businesses do not rely heavily on leveraging user data, are the least at risk of the big tech companies, Munster said. They are likely to be “dismissed from the conversation” on being regulated, he added.
Google could ultimately get hit with a hefty fine, but the headline risk — the risk that a news headline can influence the price of a stock — will likely be worse than the actual outcome of the investigations, Munster said. “This is going to take years to sort itself out.”
On Tuesday, tech stocks bounced higher and the Nasdaq lifted out of its correction.
— CNBC’s Matthew Belvedere contributed to this report.
