Microsoft Stock Gains After Google Withdraws Cloud Antitrust Case

Microsoft MSFT shares rose about 1.5% on Friday after Alphabet's Google GOOGL withdrew its antitrust complaint targeting Microsoft's cloud practices in the European Union, easing a direct legal dispute between two of the biggest cloud providers.

The filing signals that Google is no longer pursuing its own case over cloud licensing and software bundling in Europe.

EU scrutiny of Microsoft's cloud business, however, continues. Regulators are still reviewing whether Microsoft's contracts and incentives tied to Windows and Office limit customer choice and make it harder for rivals to move workloads away from its platform.

Officials are also assessing whether pricing structures encourage long-term lock-in for enterprise clients.

For Google, stepping back from the complaint suggests a shift toward competing through product features and pricing rather than litigation. Cloud remains a growth area for the company, though it trails Microsoft and Amazon (AMZN) in market share.

For Microsoft, the broader EU probe could produce remedies, changes to business practices, or penalties, even without Google as a complainant.