222
Opinion of the Court
Malcolm v. Marathon Oil Co., 642 F. 2d 845, 853, n. 16 (CA5), cert. denied, 454 U. S. 1125 (1981); Pacific Engineering & Production Co. of Nevada v. Kerr-McGee Corp., 551 F. 2d 790, 798 (CA10), cert. denied, 434 U. S. 879 (1977); International Telephone & Telegraph Corp., 104 F. T. C. 280, 401-402 (1984); Hovenkamp, supra, at 189; 3 Areeda & Turner ¶ 720c; P. Areeda & H. Hovenkamp, Antitrust Law ¶ 720c (Supp. 1992) (hereinafter Areeda & Hovenkamp). There are, to be sure, differences between the two statutes. For example, we interpret § 2 of the Sherman Act to condemn predatory pricing when it poses "a dangerous probability of actual monopolization," Spectrum Sports, Inc. v. McQuillan, 506 U. S. 447, 455 (1993), whereas the Robinson-Patman Act requires only that there be "a reasonable possibility" of substantial injury to competition before its protections are triggered, Falls City Industries, Inc. v. Vanco Beverage, Inc., 460 U. S. 428, 434 (1983). But whatever additional flexibility the Robinson-Patman Act standard may imply, the essence of the claim under either statute is the same: A business rival has priced its products in an unfair manner with an object to eliminate or retard competition and thereby gain and exercise control over prices in the relevant market.
Accordingly, whether the claim alleges predatory pricing under § 2 of the Sherman Act or primary-line price discrimination under the Robinson-Patman Act, two prerequisites to recovery remain the same. First, a plaintiff seeking to establish competitive injury resulting from a rival's low prices must prove that the prices complained of are below an appropriate measure of its rival's costs.1 See, e. g., Cargill, Inc. v. Monfort of Colorado, Inc., 479 U. S. 104, 117 (1986); Mat-1 Because the parties in this case agree that the relevant measure of cost is average variable cost, however, we again decline to resolve the conflict among the lower courts over the appropriate measure of cost. See Cargill, Inc. v. Monfort of Colorado, Inc., 479 U. S. 104, 117-118, n. 12 (1986); Matsushita Elec. Industrial Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U. S. 574, 585, n. 8 (1986).
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