Shares in Alphabet (GOOGL) stock are down on Thursday after EU regulators began discussing another fine for the Google developer. According to a Reuters report, the European Commission is already drafting a decision on whether to impose the fine or not. The commission already handed Google a $3.45 billion fine earlier this month for favoring its online display technology services and reinforcing its ad exchange AdX’s central role to the detriment of its rivals and online publishers.

The rumored second fine against Google would likely refer to charges brought in March that Google favored its vertical search engines, such as Google Shopping, Google Flights and Google Hotels, over rivals. However, the exact fine price hasn’t been revealed. In response to the fine discussion, Google repeated comments made by its senior director for competition, Oliver Bethell, earlier this year.“ While we have invited feedback throughout this process, we now need to bring this debate to an end without the interests of a few being prioritised over the millions of people and businesses in Europe who benefit from Search,” he had said.

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Alphabet has been facing numerous charges and controversies in 2025, which has slowed the company’s stock growth to just a 29% gain YTD. Following the US DOJ’s ruling in Google’s antitrust case in early September, GOOGL shares hit a new ATH. The stock is now up 17% in the last 30 days. GOOGL stock also picked up steam following the company’s deal with PayPal, with the latter beginning to use Google’s AI technology to create new AI-powered shopping experiences.

Should the EU carry on with the second fine against Alphabet, GOOGL stock could take a hit that reverses its growth over the past month. At press time, the stock is trading near the top of its 52-week range and above its 200-day simple moving average.