Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOGL) has been on an exceptional run in the second half of the year, playing catch-up and now leading the broader market. What were once viewed as headwinds have turned into powerful tailwinds. Concerns over AI competition have subsided, with Google now firmly reestablished as one of the dominant players in the next wave of enterprise AI and cloud computing. Regulatory fears surrounding the potential breakup of Chrome have also faded, allowing Alphabet’s core business to strengthen across the board.
As profitability continues to improve across Google Services and Google Cloud, many investors and spectators might be unaware of one of Alphabet’s most intriguing segments, “Other Bets.” This division is home to the company’s moonshot ventures. Experimental projects that may not yet contribute materially to earnings but have the potential to revolutionize entire industries. One of the most ambitious of these is Waymo, Alphabet’s autonomous driving subsidiary.
