Mountain View, California-based Alphabet Inc. (GOOG) is a multinational technology conglomerate holding company offering various products and platforms. With a market cap of $3.6 trillion, GOOG provides web-based search, advertisements, maps, software applications, mobile operating systems, consumer content, enterprise solutions, commerce, and hardware products. The internet media giant is expected to announce its fiscal first-quarter earnings for 2026 in the near term.
Ahead of the event, analysts expect GOOG to report a profit of $2.76 per share on a diluted basis, down 1.8% from $2.81 per share in the year-ago quarter. The company has consistently surpassed Wall Street’s EPS estimates in its last four quarterly reports.
For the full year, analysts expect GOOG to report EPS of $11.61, up 7.4% from $10.81 in fiscal 2025. Its EPS is expected to rise 14.6% year over year to $13.31 in fiscal 2027.
GOOG stock has notably outperformed the S&P 500 Index’s ($SPX) 30.7% gains over the past 52 weeks, with shares up 103.7% during this period. Similarly, it considerably outpaced the State Street Communication Services Select Sector SPDR ETF’s (XLC) 28% gains over the same time frame.
GOOG's strong performance is fueled by Google Cloud's 55% surge in backlog to $240 billion and widespread AI adoption, with over 75% of Cloud customers using Alphabet's AI products and Gemini hitting 750 million+ monthly active users. Additionally, its AI-driven Search and YouTube ad growth also contributed to the company's success. A key legal win in the U.S. DoJ antitrust case, where Alphabet was allowed to retain Chrome, Android, and its Apple Inc. (AAPL) partnership, removed a major uncertainty and boosted GOOG stock.
Analysts’ consensus opinion on GOOG stock is bullish, with a “Strong Buy” rating overall. Out of 55 analysts covering the stock, 47 advise a “Strong Buy” rating, three suggest a “Moderate Buy,” and five give a “Hold.” GOOG’s average analyst price target is $378.72, indicating a potential upside of 24.6% from the current levels.
