Google's parent company Alphabet shares plunge over 8% amid AI search competition, malware threats

Shares of Alphabet Inc., the parent company of Google, plunged more than 5% on Wednesday following revelations from a federal antitrust trial and developments tied to cybersecurity and energy infrastructure.As of 12:17 p.m., Alphabet Inc.'s Class C stock was trading at $151.41, marking a sharp decline of $13.79 or 8.35% for the day. At the heart of the market reaction was testimony by Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of services, who told a Washington court that Google’s search traffic on Apple products declined last month. Cue attributed the drop to growing competition from AI-powered search alternatives such as ChatGPT and Perplexity, signalling a potential shift in user behaviour away from traditional search engines."That has never happened in 20 years," legal news outlet MLex quoted him as saying.Cue was giving testimony in a trial in which US Judge Amit Mehta will determine how Google must address his landmark ruling last year that it operates an illegal monopoly in online search.The Apple executive's remarks saw Google's market capitalization wiped of $140 billion since the close of trading on Wall Street on Tuesday.The marathon court case has revealed that Google pays Apple tens of billions of dollars every year in a revenue sharing agreement in which Google's search engine is set as the default on Apple's Safari browser.Markets were also rattled by Cue's comment that "over the coming year we will add other (AI) choices to the search engine choice in the browser, because I think those products are getting better and better," he said, according to MLex.Meanwhile, Google disclosed it has identified a new strain of malware dubbed “LOSTKEYS,” linked to the Russia-based hacking group Cold River. According to Wesley Shields of the Google Threat Intelligence Group, the malware is capable of stealing files and transmitting system information to attackers. Shields noted that LOSTKEYS represents a new advancement in Cold River’s arsenal.Cold River, which has ties to Russia’s Federal Security Service, has been associated with numerous cyber campaigns targeting high-profile Western individuals and organizations, including NATO governments, NGOs, former intelligence officers, and individuals with connections to Ukraine. Recent activity from the group was observed as recently as January, March, and April 2025. A notable past operation included the targeting of US nuclear research labs in 2022 and the leak of private emails from former British intelligence chief Richard Dearlove.Meanwhile, Google announced a major partnership with nuclear developer Elementl Power to construct three advanced nuclear power plants in the United States. Each facility is expected to produce at least 600 megawatts of electricity—enough to power a large-scale data center—as tech companies scramble to meet the surging energy demands brought on by the generative AI boom.Google will provide early-stage capital for the projects, which will be developed in collaboration with utility and regulatory partners to secure appropriate locations. Amanda Peterson Corio, Google's Global Head of Data Center Energy, said the initiative reinforces the company’s goal of strengthening the energy grid. She emphasized that advanced nuclear energy offers “reliable, baseload, 24/7 energy” crucial for supporting AI and innovation.The International Energy Agency (IEA) forecasts that electricity usage by data centres will more than double by 2030, posing significant challenges to power infrastructure—challenges this partnership seeks to address.