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SO had a significantly lower cost structure, it didn't need to lose money. The nuance is throughout the SO anti-trust trial, SO was losing market share. SO's

• bumby 7mo ago
  The court case found SO used local aggressive price cutting until competitors were driven out. That’s why they were broken up. I don’t think there is court evidence whether they lost money (although there’s speculation) in those cases because that standard wasn’t established until later antitrust cases. But once competitors were gone SO raised prices. SO still meet the threshold for monopolistic operation. Yes, SO had a lower cost structure in many cases. But efficiency is not the determining factor for antitrust behavior. That’s the chink in Chernows perspective: he focuses almost solely of efficiency argument and ignores the larger context. And not to be snarky, but that’s the same pattern you take whether you defend Rockefeller, Musk, or any other business magnate. There’s a narrative you identify with and you’ll stick to it almost to the point of circular reasoning.