Latest news with #AnatAshkenazi
Globe and Mail
3 days ago
- Business
- Globe and Mail
Is Alphabet a Buy Amid Q2 Beat, AI Visibility and Attractive Valuation?
The undisputed global leader of Internet search engine and artificial intelligence-powered cloud giant Alphabet Inc. GOOGL came up with quarterly adjusted earnings of $2.31 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.15 per share. The company posted quarterly revenues of $81.72 billion, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 2.82%. Alphabet is significantly emphasizing its Ai-capabilities to boost its search engine advertising business and cloud computing business. Alphabet raised its 2025 capital expenditure target to $85 billion from the $75 billion projected earlier. CEO Sundar Pichai said. 'Our AI infrastructure investments are crucial to meeting the growth in demand from cloud customers.' Pichai also said, 'We are seeing significant demand for our comprehensive AI product portfolio.' CFO Anat Ashkenazi said capital expenditures will rise yet again next year. Solid Earnings Estimate Revisions for GOOGL Stock For 2025, the Zacks Consensus Estimate currently shows revenues of $333.75 billion, suggesting an improvement of 13.1% year over year and earnings per share of $9.89, indicating an increase of 23% year over year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year has improved 3.6% in the last seven days. For 2026, the Zacks Consensus Estimate currently shows revenues of $373.75 billion, suggesting an improvement of 12% year over year and earnings per share of $10.56, indicating an increase of 6.7% year over year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for next year has improved 4% in the last seven days. GOOGL currently has a long-term (3-5 years) EPS growth rate of 14.9%, well above the S&P 500's long-term EPS growth rate of 12.6%. Extensive AI Infusion for Search Engine Alphabet is relying heavily on AI to maintain its search engine dominance. GOOGL is facing stiff competition from Microsoft Corp. MSFT and Baidu Inc. BIDU. Despite competition, GOOGL is currently accounting for nearly 90% global market share followed by almost 4% of Microsoft's Bing. In the last reported quarter, Google Search and other revenues increased 11.7% year over year to $54.19 billion, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 3.04%. Overall queries and commercial queries on Search continued to grow year over year in the reported quarter. Alphabet is advancing visual and contextual search capabilities. The Circle to Search feature is now active on more than 300 million devices. GOOGL is adding functionalities to help people explore complex topics and ask follow-up questions without switching apps. AI Overviews now reach more than 2 billion users per month and are available in over 200 countries across 40 languages. GOOGL is now driving over 10% more queries globally. Powered by Gemini 2.5, AI Overviews currently delivers the fastest AI responses in the industry. The combination of lens or Circle to Search, together with AI Overviews, is driving multimodal search usage. Google's AI-powered Search features are driving deeper engagement, with AI Mode offering advanced reasoning and multimodal responses. Users are generating queries twice as long as those in traditional searches. The launch of AI Mode in the United States and India — where it currently has more than 100 million monthly active users — is expected to drive further growth. AI-Powered Cloud Computing Business Google Cloud has solidified its position as the third-largest provider in the highly competitive cloud infrastructure market against Inc. 's AMZN cloud arm, Amazon Web Services, and Microsoft's Azure. GOOGL is cashing in on the increasing demand for Large Language Models with its most powerful AI model called Gemini. Google Bard and Search Generative Experience are powered by Gemini Pro to deliver an enhanced user experience. Google Cloud offers Duet AI, which provides pre-packaged AI agents that assist developers in writing, testing, documenting and operating software. GOOGL launched Gemma 3, a collection of lightweight, state-of-the-art open models that can run on a single GPU or Tensor Processing Unit (TPU). At its Cloud Next 2025 conference in Las Vegas, Alphabet unveiled Ironwood, its seventh-generation TPU, expected to be available later this year. Google Cloud unveiled its Cloud Wide Area Network, giving enterprises access to its private global fiber network. Alphabet also showcased Willow, its new quantum chip while on the AI model front, Alphabet launched Gemini 2.5, its most advanced reasoning model, alongside Gemini 2.5 Flash, a low-latency, cost-efficient version tailored for developers. Product Diversification Alphabet's self-driving business — Waymo — has recently gathered significant pace. GOOGL is scaling up this business, providing around 250,000 rides per week at present. Alphabet is also looking for opportunities to introduce this service to several new cities. As per Pichai, 'The team is testing across more than 10 cities this year, including New York and Philadelphia. We hope to serve riders in all 10 in the future.' Waymo is using GOOGL's cloud computing, AI infrastructure and mapping data to serve customers. Lucrative Valuation of GOOGL Shares Alphabet currently carries a forward P/E of 19.52X for the current financial year, compared with 20.42X of the industry and 19.96X of the S&P 500. GOOGL has a return on equity of 34.31% compared with 4.01% of the industry and 16.88% of the S&P 500 Index. Investment Thesis for GOOGL Shares Year to date, shares of Alphabet lagged the broad-market index — the S&P 500. However, the stock received huge momentum in the past three months, in which it jumped more than 20% compared with around 16% gain of the S&P 500. In the past month, GOOGL advanced 9.8%, while the S&P 500 rose 3.2%. Alphabet currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. At this stage, it will be prudent to buy GOOGL on every dip. Hold this stock for the long term as the company's extensive AI thrust and robust future projections will generate more value. 5 Stocks Set to Double Each was handpicked by a Zacks expert as the favorite stock to gain +100% or more in the months ahead. They include Stock #1: A Disruptive Force with Notable Growth and Resilience Stock #2: Bullish Signs Signaling to Buy the Dip Stock #3: One of the Most Compelling Investments in the Market Stock #4: Leader In a Red-Hot Industry Poised for Growth Stock #5: Modern Omni-Channel Platform Coiled to Spring Most of the stocks in this report are flying under Wall Street radar, which provides a great opportunity to get in on the ground floor. While not all picks can be winners, previous recommendations have soared +171%, +209% and +232%. Download Atomic Opportunity: Nuclear Energy's Comeback free today. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Inc. (AMZN): Free Stock Analysis Report Microsoft Corporation (MSFT): Free Stock Analysis Report Baidu, Inc. (BIDU): Free Stock Analysis Report Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL): Free Stock Analysis Report
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Analysts turn heads with new Alphabet stock price target after earnings
Analysts turn heads with new Alphabet stock price target after earnings originally appeared on TheStreet. Alphabet's solid earnings have investors feeling more confident in Google again. The company posted earnings of $2.31 per share on revenue of $96.43 billion, both ahead of Wall Street analysts' forecast. Search brought in $54.19 billion, while total ad revenue climbed to $71.34 billion, up 10% from last year. YouTube ads came in at $9.8 billion, slightly above expectations. Cloud was a standout, with revenue jumping 32% to $13.62 billion. Alphabet recently struck a deal with OpenAI to power ChatGPT using Google Cloud. Alphabet also raised its 2025 capital spending forecast to $85 billion, up from $75 billion in February, citing 'strong and growing demand for our Cloud products and services.' CFO Anat Ashkenazi said spending will likely increase again in 2026. The upbeat report helped push Alphabet stock () closer to its all-time high. Shares closed at $194.08 on July 25, up more than 13% over the past month. That mirrors a broader bounce in tech stocks as optimism grows around AI and cloud. So far this year, however, Alphabet shares are still trailing the market, up just 1.91% compared to the S&P 500's 8.62% gain. Analysts raise Alphabet's stock price targets Alphabet's latest earnings beat has prompted a wave of price target hikes from Wall Street analysts, though opinions split on how much upside is left. Bank of America analyst Justin Post raised his price target on Alphabet to $217 from $210 while maintaining a buy rating, following the company's better-than-expected second-quarter analyst highlighted that both Cloud and Search outperformed expectations, calling them 'a bright spot' in what he described as 'another strong' quarter that suggests AI use is growing the market. "Another stable qtr for Search results increases our confidence in the AI transition and should ease concerns on a potential revenue reset," the analyst wrote. "We acknowledge growing users of OpenAI but think Street could be underappreciating potential AI driven upside for Search (more use, better ads) and Cloud," he added. JPMorgan raised its price target on Alphabet to $232 from $200 and reiterated an overweight rating, according to The firm believes Alphabet's AI-driven demand and accelerating backlog make Google Cloud a "bigger driver of the bull case going forward." Other firms also lifted their targets following the earnings beat, though with a more cautious tone. Stifel raised its price target on Alphabet to $222 from $218, citing solid performance across Search, YouTube, and Cloud. However, the firm doesn't expect much follow-through in shares due to lingering concerns about Alphabet's long-term AI position and the DOJ overhang. UBS bumped its target to $202 from $192, calling the quarter Alphabet's 'cleanest' in a while, with strong fundamentals supporting earnings growth. Still, the firm kept a neutral rating, pointing to pressure on the stock's valuation from unresolved regulatory risks and rising competition in Search. Google still faces pressure Despite Alphabet's strong earnings, concerns around regulatory and competitive threats still exist. The company is currently facing a major antitrust lawsuit from the U.S. Department of Justice. In early August 2024, Judge Amit Mehta of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia accused Google of illegally maintaining a search engine monopoly by using exclusive agreements with device makers like Apple () .The DOJ is now pursuing remedies that include forced divestitures of Chrome and Android. The case is still pending, but could lead to structural changes or costly settlements if the DOJ prevails. Mehta said he aims to rule by August, Reuters reported. Beyond regulatory headwinds, Alphabet is also under mounting pressure from emerging AI competitors. More Wall Street Analysts: Veteran analyst drops surprise call on Tesla ahead of earnings Best Buy analyst, focused on earnings growth, reworks stock price target Microsoft analysts reboot stock price targets ahead of Q4 earnings As generative AI reshapes how users find information, traditional search is being challenged by AI tools like ChatGPT. These platforms offer more conversational responses, potentially reducing the need for users to 'Google.' There's also a risk that trade tensions could curb advertiser spending on Google's platforms, potentially impacting revenue growth. But when asked about the outlook, Alphabet's Chief Business Officer Philipp Schindler said it was too soon to make any calls. 'I think it's really too early to comment on anything happening in the second half of the year,' Schindler turn heads with new Alphabet stock price target after earnings first appeared on TheStreet on Jul 26, 2025 This story was originally reported by TheStreet on Jul 26, 2025, where it first appeared.
Miami Herald
4 days ago
- Business
- Miami Herald
Analysts turn heads with new Alphabet stock price target after earnings
Alphabet's solid earnings have investors feeling more confident in Google again. The company posted earnings of $2.31 per share on revenue of $96.43 billion, both ahead of Wall Street analysts' forecast. Search brought in $54.19 billion, while total ad revenue climbed to $71.34 billion, up 10% from last year. YouTube ads came in at $9.8 billion, slightly above expectations. Cloud was a standout, with revenue jumping 32% to $13.62 billion. Alphabet recently struck a deal with OpenAI to power ChatGPT using Google Cloud. Alphabet also raised its 2025 capital spending forecast to $85 billion, up from $75 billion in February, citing "strong and growing demand for our Cloud products and services." CFO Anat Ashkenazi said spending will likely increase again in 2026. The upbeat report helped push Alphabet stock (GOOGL) closer to its all-time high. Shares closed at $194.08 on July 25, up more than 13% over the past month. That mirrors a broader bounce in tech stocks as optimism grows around AI and cloud. So far this year, however, Alphabet shares are still trailing the market, up just 1.91% compared to the S&P 500's 8.62% gain. Image source:Alphabet's latest earnings beat has prompted a wave of price target hikes from Wall Street analysts, though opinions split on how much upside is left. Bank of America analyst Justin Post raised his price target on Alphabet to $217 from $210 while maintaining a buy rating, following the company's better-than-expected second-quarter results. Related: Analysts unveil bold Amazon stock price target before earnings The analyst highlighted that both Cloud and Search outperformed expectations, calling them "a bright spot" in what he described as "another strong" quarter that suggests AI use is growing the market. "Another stable qtr for Search results increases our confidence in the AI transition and should ease concerns on a potential revenue reset," the analyst wrote. "We acknowledge growing users of OpenAI but think Street could be underappreciating potential AI driven upside for Search (more use, better ads) and Cloud," he added. JPMorgan raised its price target on Alphabet to $232 from $200 and reiterated an overweight rating, according to The firm believes Alphabet's AI-driven demand and accelerating backlog make Google Cloud a "bigger driver of the bull case going forward." Other firms also lifted their targets following the earnings beat, though with a more cautious tone. Stifel raised its price target on Alphabet to $222 from $218, citing solid performance across Search, YouTube, and Cloud. However, the firm doesn't expect much follow-through in shares due to lingering concerns about Alphabet's long-term AI position and the DOJ overhang. UBS bumped its target to $202 from $192, calling the quarter Alphabet's "cleanest" in a while, with strong fundamentals supporting earnings growth. Still, the firm kept a neutral rating, pointing to pressure on the stock's valuation from unresolved regulatory risks and rising competition in Search. Despite Alphabet's strong earnings, concerns around regulatory and competitive threats still exist. The company is currently facing a major antitrust lawsuit from the U.S. Department of Justice. In early August 2024, Judge Amit Mehta of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia accused Google of illegally maintaining a search engine monopoly by using exclusive agreements with device makers like Apple (AAPL) . Related: Jim Cramer drops blunt 6-word message on Nvidia stock The DOJ is now pursuing remedies that include forced divestitures of Chrome and Android. The case is still pending, but could lead to structural changes or costly settlements if the DOJ prevails. Mehta said he aims to rule by August, Reuters reported. Beyond regulatory headwinds, Alphabet is also under mounting pressure from emerging AI competitors. More Wall Street Analysts: Veteran analyst drops surprise call on Tesla ahead of earningsBest Buy analyst, focused on earnings growth, reworks stock price targetMicrosoft analysts reboot stock price targets ahead of Q4 earnings As generative AI reshapes how users find information, traditional search is being challenged by AI tools like ChatGPT. These platforms offer more conversational responses, potentially reducing the need for users to "Google." There's also a risk that trade tensions could curb advertiser spending on Google's platforms, potentially impacting revenue growth. But when asked about the outlook, Alphabet's Chief Business Officer Philipp Schindler said it was too soon to make any calls. "I think it's really too early to comment on anything happening in the second half of the year," Schindler said. Related: Legendary fund manager has blunt message on 'Big Beautiful Bill' The Arena Media Brands, LLC THESTREET is a registered trademark of TheStreet, Inc.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Analysts turn heads with new Alphabet stock price target after earnings
Analysts turn heads with new Alphabet stock price target after earnings originally appeared on TheStreet. Alphabet's solid earnings have investors feeling more confident in Google again. The company posted earnings of $2.31 per share on revenue of $96.43 billion, both ahead of Wall Street analysts' forecast. Search brought in $54.19 billion, while total ad revenue climbed to $71.34 billion, up 10% from last year. YouTube ads came in at $9.8 billion, slightly above expectations. Cloud was a standout, with revenue jumping 32% to $13.62 billion. Alphabet recently struck a deal with OpenAI to power ChatGPT using Google Cloud. Alphabet also raised its 2025 capital spending forecast to $85 billion, up from $75 billion in February, citing 'strong and growing demand for our Cloud products and services.' CFO Anat Ashkenazi said spending will likely increase again in 2026. The upbeat report helped push Alphabet stock () closer to its all-time high. Shares closed at $194.08 on July 25, up more than 13% over the past month. That mirrors a broader bounce in tech stocks as optimism grows around AI and cloud. So far this year, however, Alphabet shares are still trailing the market, up just 1.91% compared to the S&P 500's 8.62% gain. Analysts raise Alphabet's stock price targets Alphabet's latest earnings beat has prompted a wave of price target hikes from Wall Street analysts, though opinions split on how much upside is left. Bank of America analyst Justin Post raised his price target on Alphabet to $217 from $210 while maintaining a buy rating, following the company's better-than-expected second-quarter analyst highlighted that both Cloud and Search outperformed expectations, calling them 'a bright spot' in what he described as 'another strong' quarter that suggests AI use is growing the market. "Another stable qtr for Search results increases our confidence in the AI transition and should ease concerns on a potential revenue reset," the analyst wrote. "We acknowledge growing users of OpenAI but think Street could be underappreciating potential AI driven upside for Search (more use, better ads) and Cloud," he added. JPMorgan raised its price target on Alphabet to $232 from $200 and reiterated an overweight rating, according to The firm believes Alphabet's AI-driven demand and accelerating backlog make Google Cloud a "bigger driver of the bull case going forward." Other firms also lifted their targets following the earnings beat, though with a more cautious tone. Stifel raised its price target on Alphabet to $222 from $218, citing solid performance across Search, YouTube, and Cloud. However, the firm doesn't expect much follow-through in shares due to lingering concerns about Alphabet's long-term AI position and the DOJ overhang. UBS bumped its target to $202 from $192, calling the quarter Alphabet's 'cleanest' in a while, with strong fundamentals supporting earnings growth. Still, the firm kept a neutral rating, pointing to pressure on the stock's valuation from unresolved regulatory risks and rising competition in Search. Google still faces pressure Despite Alphabet's strong earnings, concerns around regulatory and competitive threats still exist. The company is currently facing a major antitrust lawsuit from the U.S. Department of Justice. In early August 2024, Judge Amit Mehta of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia accused Google of illegally maintaining a search engine monopoly by using exclusive agreements with device makers like Apple () .The DOJ is now pursuing remedies that include forced divestitures of Chrome and Android. The case is still pending, but could lead to structural changes or costly settlements if the DOJ prevails. Mehta said he aims to rule by August, Reuters reported. Beyond regulatory headwinds, Alphabet is also under mounting pressure from emerging AI competitors. More Wall Street Analysts: Veteran analyst drops surprise call on Tesla ahead of earnings Best Buy analyst, focused on earnings growth, reworks stock price target Microsoft analysts reboot stock price targets ahead of Q4 earnings As generative AI reshapes how users find information, traditional search is being challenged by AI tools like ChatGPT. These platforms offer more conversational responses, potentially reducing the need for users to 'Google.' There's also a risk that trade tensions could curb advertiser spending on Google's platforms, potentially impacting revenue growth. But when asked about the outlook, Alphabet's Chief Business Officer Philipp Schindler said it was too soon to make any calls. 'I think it's really too early to comment on anything happening in the second half of the year,' Schindler turn heads with new Alphabet stock price target after earnings first appeared on TheStreet on Jul 26, 2025 This story was originally reported by TheStreet on Jul 26, 2025, where it first appeared. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
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First Post
5 days ago
- Business
- First Post
Alphabet sees increase in net profit, says recently launched AI Mode on Google 'going well' in India
The company's revenue grew 14 per cent year-over-year to $96.4 billion, largely fueled by strong Google Cloud sales. The cloud division proved to be a major driver of growth, with revenue increasing 32 per cent from the previous year to $13.62 billion read more Google's parent company, Alphabet, recorded a 19 per cent year-on-year growth in its net profit in the April-June quarter, worth $28.2 billion. The increase in the tech giant's profit is attributable to the launch of Alphabet's AI model, which has been 'going well'. Alphabet's performance in the previous quarter was driven by the expansion of its cloud computing division and the positive impact of its AI products. 'We had a standout quarter, with robust growth across the company. We are leading at the frontier of AI and shipping at an incredible pace. AI is positively impacting every part of the business, driving strong momentum,' CEO Sundar Pichai said. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The company's revenue grew 14 per cent year-over-year to $96.4 billion, largely fueled by strong Google Cloud sales. The cloud division proved to be a major driver of growth, with revenue increasing 32 per cent from the previous year to $13.62 billion. Cloud platform and AI emerge as stars of the show Alphabet has been witnessing a boom, and the credit goes to the high demand for Google Cloud Platform (GCP) and an expansion of its core products like AI infrastructure and generative AI solutions. To keep up with rising demand for its cloud products and AI-driven services, Alphabet has raised its capital expenditure forecast for 2025. The company now plans to invest around $85 billion this year, up from its earlier estimate of $75 billion. Anat Ashkenazi, chief financial officer (CFO) of Alphabet, said, 'Our updated outlook reflects additional investment in servers, the timing of delivery of servers, and an acceleration in the pace of data centre construction, primarily to meet cloud customer demand.' The company's end-to-end AI search experience on Google, AI Mode, has been launched in the US and India, and 'has received positive feedback'. AI Overview on Google now has over 2 billion monthly users in more than 200 countries. Still, some analysts warned that the higher spending may draw fresh scrutiny from investors, who have largely stayed on the sidelines this year. Alphabet shares are up just 0.5 per cent in 2025, trailing Microsoft's 20 per cent increase and a 22 per cent rise in Meta stock, also held back by regulatory battles that are looking to break its illegal monopoly in the search and ad-tech markets. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD With inputs from agencies
