(Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

Meta offered $450 million to settle its antitrust trial — about $29.5 billion less than the FTC wanted

But Zuckerberg’s business could lose a lot more if it’s forced to sell Instagram or WhatsApp.

4/16/25 8:50AM

The Federal Trade Commission’s antitrust trial against Meta is now heading into its third day, as the company’s acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp in 2012 and 2014, respectively, are hauled into question.

And according to new Wall Street Journal reporting, it’s a trial that CEO Mark Zuckerberg himself was trying to settle for $450 million on a phone call with the FTC chair in late March — considerably lower than the $30 billion fine the Commission had proposed, and a bargain compared to what it would cost the business were it forced to sell off either of the apps in question.

You’re gonna need a smaller moat

On Monday, the first day of the trial, an FTC lawyer claimed that Meta chiefs were aware that the acquisitions would help the company build a “moat” to fend off competition in the personal social networking industry, creating a monopoly in a space that includes only two other platforms, per the FTC’s argument: Snapchat and smaller platform MeWe.

Meta argued that the Commission has “gerrymandered a fictitious market” with this take, in a company blog post titled, “The FTC’s Weak Case Against Meta Ignores Reality,” which was posted a day before the trial kicked off.

However, the social giant was clearly keen to keep the case out of court — having already forked out the largest tech company fine in FTC history in 2019, handing over $5 billion for violating consumers’ privacy. Looking at how Meta’s business is made up, its attempts to shield its apps from the legal spotlight make a lot of sense.

Meta revenue splits chart — Sherwood News

Since it acquired Instagram for a reported $1 billion in April 2012, Meta’s quarterly revenues are up more than 40x, while ~98% of the $48.4 billion it posted in Q4 2024 came from its family of apps, including Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Messenger.

The division is also much more profitable for Meta than its other revenue stream. Apps have brought in a whopping $264 billion since Q4 2020, compared with Reality Labs (home to the company’s AI operations and metaverse ambitions), which has burned $60 billion in the same time frame.

Max Knoblauch6/8/26

Paramount reportedly offers concessions to resolve multistate antitrust investigation

Paramount has reportedly offered up some concessions in an effort to prevent an antitrust lawsuit by California and about 10 other states, according to Bloomberg reporting on Monday.

Reuters first reported on the potential suit from a group of unnamed states last week, which could throw a wrench in Paramount’s plans to buy rival Warner Bros. Discovery in a Hollywood megamerger.

The list of concessions is unknown, though Bloomberg previously reported that Paramount is open to divesting some of its kids TV assets to appease EU regulators.

Late last month, reports said US regulators appeared likely to approve the $110 billion merger, following a meeting between Paramount CEO David Ellison and DOJ antitrust staffers.

Paramount Offers Concessions to Head Off State Antitrust Lawsuit

The list of concessions is unknown, though Bloomberg previously reported that Paramount is open to divesting some of its kids TV assets to appease EU regulators.

Late last month, reports said US regulators appeared likely to approve the $110 billion merger, following a meeting between Paramount CEO David Ellison and DOJ antitrust staffers.

$98B ⛽

Max Knoblauch6/8/26

The IATA released its latest financial outlook for the airline industry over the weekend, forecasting a $98 billion jump in the sector’s collective fuel bill. The world’s largest trade group representing airlines expects the oil spike to halve profits by 49% from last year to $23 billion.

The group also expects profit margins to halve year over year, falling from 2025’s 4.2% to 2%. Still, revenue is expected to climb to $1.17 trillion from $1.07 trillion.

A surge in the cost of jet fuel has rocked US and global airlines this year, leading Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, American Airlines, Southwest Airlines, JetBlue, and others to raise fares and ancillary charges like bag fees. Low-cost carriers, which operate on smaller margins, have been squeezed the hardest, resulting in Spirit’s shutdown.

“It’s a tough year for all airlines, especially those whose balance sheets had not yet recovered from COVID. And, of course, for those operating in the Gulf,” said IATA Director General Willie Walsh, who added that demand is holding up and about half of passengers expect to spend more on travel this year. “That bodes well for a strong northern summer peak season. The big unknown is how long travelers and shippers can tolerate the higher costs of connectivity.”

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GM has reportedly rehired more than 100 former Cruise employees, 18 months after shuttering the robotaxi unit

GM has rehired more than 100 employees it let go early last year when it shuttered Cruise, its former robotaxi business, according to reporting by The Information.

The hiring spree, which also includes employees from Nvidia and Uber, is geared toward ramping up GM’s plans for personal-use self-driving vehicles and not robotaxis. The former had been the focus of Cruise, prior to GM shuttering it in 2024.

Reporting last fall revealed that GM was attempting to rehire some former Cruise employees, but the scope of that effort wasn’t clear. More than 1,000 employees were laid off when the automaker scrapped Cruise, which it invested $10 billion into.

Google’s Waymo, Cruise’s former chief rival, is now worth $126 billion after a $16 billion funding round earlier this year. The company says it’s serving 500,000 paid robotaxi rides per week in the US.

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