<1%Merger challenge rate — DOJ/FTC 2022
4,200Total mergers reviewed by DOJ/FTC in 2022
29Mergers challenged (blocked or restructured) in 2022
4-5yrAverage time to litigate a contested antitrust case
Antitrust law is supposed to stop big companies from getting so powerful that they crush competition and raise prices. But the government barely enforces it — they review thousands of corporate mergers every year and challenge less than 1% of them. So companies keep merging and buying each other. Result: a few giant companies dominate every industry, from airlines to pharmaceuticals to grocery stores, and there's less competition to keep prices down or quality up.
The DOJ Antitrust Division and FTC must review mergers under Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) Act. In 2022, they reviewed 4,200 transactions and challenged 29. The challenge rate has been below 2% every year since 2010. Meanwhile, merger activity has created extreme concentration: 4 airlines carry 80% of passengers, 4 grocery chains control 65% of food retail, 5 tech companies dominate multiple digital markets. The "consumer welfare standard" (post-Bork) has narrowed antitrust to price effects only — ignoring effects on workers, suppliers, innovation, and democracy.
DOJ/FTC HSR annual reports: 2022 transaction reviews vs challenges. Grullon, Larkin & Michaely (2019 RFS): corporate profit margins have increased significantly in concentrated industries — consistent with market power. Khan (2017) Yale Law Journal: "Amazon's Antitrust Paradox" — Borkian price-focus misses platform economics. Stigler Center (2019) "Stigler Committee on Digital Platforms": calls for structural separation. Merger retrospectives (FTC study 2022): 72% of consummated mergers in industries reviewed showed price increases post-merger. Biden Executive Order 14036 (2021): directed agencies to revive antitrust vigor. New HSR rules (2023): expanded information requirements. DOJ wins: US v. Google (2024, search monopoly).
DOJ Annual Competition Reports: justice.gov/atr/competition-and-monopoly. FTC Annual Reports: ftc.gov/reports/annual-highlights. HSR data: ftc.gov/policy/hearings-competition-consumer-protection/hsr-annual-report. Grullon et al. (2019) Review of Financial Studies 32(8). Lina Khan "Amazon's Antitrust Paradox" Yale LJ 126(3) 2017. US v. Google: justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-sues-google-monopolizing-digital-advertising-technologies. Merger guidelines 2023: justice.gov/atr/2023-merger-guidelines. Stigler Center: promarket.org.
Concentration Without Consequence
Industries have consolidated dramatically. Prices rose. Competition fell. Enforcement barely noticed. The Gilded Age is back with better PR.
Industry Concentration: Top 4 Companies' Market Share (2024)
Share of revenue controlled by 4 largest firms — measure of monopoly power
Annual Merger Reviews vs Challenges (DOJ/FTC)
The enforcement gap — reviewed thousands, challenged dozens
Merger Activity vs Corporate Profit Margins (1980–2022)
As mergers increase, profit margins expand — consistent with market power
The Bork Doctrine — And Its Costs
Robert Bork's 1978 "The Antitrust Paradox" argued antitrust should focus only on consumer prices, not market structure. This became DOJ/FTC orthodoxy. The result: 40 years of permissive merger policy that built dominant platforms (Google, Amazon, Meta), consolidated airlines (4 major from 10), merged hospitals, and created pharmaceutical monopolies. The FTC attempted to reverse this under Lina Khan (2021-2024), with mixed court success. The theory of harm is under reconstruction — but markets have already concentrated.
Sources
DOJ/FTC HSR Annual Report (2022) · Grullon, Larkin & Michaely, Review of Financial Studies (2019) · Lina Khan "Amazon's Antitrust Paradox," Yale Law Journal (2017) · FTC Merger Retrospective Study (2022) · Stigler Center Digital Platforms Report (2019) · Biden Executive Order 14036 on Competition (2021)