Attorneys general for Utah and 36 other U.S. states or
districts suing Google over alleged antitrust violations with the app store
also said in the newly unredacted filing that the business in 2019 had $8.5
billion in gross profit and $7 billion in operating income, for an operating
margin of over 62%.
The figures include sales of apps, in-app purchase and app
store ads. Google told Reuters the data "are being used to mischaracterize
our business in a meritless lawsuit."
The company and its accusers said in a separate filing on
Saturday a trial in late 2022 is possible over whether Google abuses its
alleged monopoly in app sales for Android devices.
In its quarterly financial disclosures, Google groups Play
app revenue with that of other services and accounts for the store's ad revenue
as part of another broader category.
Attorneys general, as well as mobile app developer Epic
Games and others separately suing Google, have contended that it generates huge
profits through the Play Store by taking 30% of the fee for every digital good
sold inside an app. The plaintiffs say Google's cut is arbitrarily high,
siphoning app developers' profits.
Google argues that alternatives exist to Google's store and
payment systems, though critics say those routes are unfeasible and were
sometimes blocked.
Plaintiffs allege Google through anticompetitive deals
extended benefits to and imposed restrictions on major developers such as
"League of Legends" maker Riot Games to keep them from leaving the
Play Store.
A filing by Epic Games unsealed this month said Google,
according to internal documents, feared losing $1.1 billion in annual app store
profit if the Play Store was successfully bypassed.