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Buy Day today: Good (62) Broad market participation · no major macro event
GOOGL

Alphabet Inc Class A

Communication Services · Internet Content & Information · listed since 2004

347.30$ +1.3% vs. previous close Closing price · As of: Sep 17, 2026
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Assessment

Our Rating

A journalistic assessment by our editorial team at the time of the deep dive — it rates the company, not the entry point. Not investment advice and not a solicitation to buy or sell.

Quality confirmed Strong but evasive

Business model, numbers and balance sheet hold up to our review. Whether the current price supports an entry is a separate question — it hangs on the price, not on the company.

Why this colour

Anyone holding the stock holds an operationally outstanding company at a fair price — the substance carries it, and the cloud backlog delivers genuine, contractually underpinned tailwind. A new entry, by contrast, is a deliberate double bet: on the AI construction site paying a return despite "significantly" rising depreciation, and on lenient antitrust outcomes in Washington and Brussels. Whoever understands both bets and wants to carry them finds quality here; whoever has no answer to one of them waits for more clarity — for instance the ad-tech ruling or the first quarters under the full depreciation load. The decision is yours.

What the thesis turns on

Assessment: Opportunities & Risks

Alphabet is the rare double of quality company and value-scanner hit: dominant platforms, a booming cloud with nearly half a trillion dollars in order backlog, a fortress balance sheet and a P/E of about 26 that is fair for this strength. Set against this are two open mega-bets no scanner can price: whether the most expensive investment wave in company history ($91.4 billion in capex in 2025, "significantly more" in 2026, fast-rising depreciation, sextupled note debt, billions in guarantees for third-party data centers) converts into real returns — and whether the courts merely file at the advertising foundation or cut deeper. The reported record profit moreover contains a growing paper share from valuation gains on stakes. Not investment advice.

Market position & product

Globally dominant attention platforms (Search, YouTube, Android) plus the fastest-growing segment, Google Cloud (+63 percent in the first quarter of 2026), with its own AI stack of Gemini models and TPU chips; the cloud order backlog of $467.6 billion is contractually underpinned (10-Q as of March 31, 2026).

Earning power & balance sheet

$402.8 billion in revenue and $132.2 billion in net income in 2025, $164.7 billion in operating cash flow, $126.8 billion in cash/securities and Altman-Z about 10 — plus $45.4 billion in buybacks in 2025 and a growing dividend ($0.22 per quarter since April 2026).

Legal & regulatory risk

More than 70 percent advertising share while the distribution model is being legally rebuilt: a Search final judgment with data-sharing obligations (both sides appealing), threatened structural remedies in the ad-tech business, a $3.5 billion EU fine, DMA proceedings — and $15.6 billion in short-term legal accruals (10-K 2025).

AI capex & debt

$91.4 billion in investments in 2025, "significantly more" for 2026; depreciation rising significantly per the company's own filing; notes sextupled to $79.1 billion within 15 months, plus data center and energy guarantees of roughly $37 billion plus about $15.3 billion newly added in April 2026 (10-K 2025; 10-Q as of March 31, 2026).

Valuation & profit quality

A P/E of about 26 is fair for this quality, not a euphoria price (data as of July 8, 2026) — but the quarterly profit in early 2026 consisted of more than half unrealized valuation gains on stakes, and measured on free cash flow the stock costs about 57 times; insiders most recently reported 17 sells versus 3 buys.

Worth Noting

The analysis covers both listed share classes: GOOGL (Class A, voting) and GOOG (Class C, non-voting) represent the same economic interest in Alphabet; the unlisted Class B secures the founders 52.7 percent of the votes.

The net income of the first quarter of 2026 ($62.6 billion) included $36.9 billion in unrealized book gains on non-marketable stakes; the operating income of $39.7 billion is the more reliable measure. The 2025 profit also included $24.1 billion in valuation gains.

Price and valuation figures are dated to July 8, 2026 (about $344 per A share, about $4,194 billion in market value); analyses are evergreen, daily prices are not a buy argument.

The scanner membership was checked twice: data as of July 8, 2026 (Greenblatt, Zweig, Buffett criteria) and a live check on July 14, 2026 (Greenblatt and Zweig confirmed; the Buffett criteria had meanwhile dropped out).

Stock Watch

This analysis is as of August 26, 2026. Stock Watch will tell you what's changed at GOOGL since then.

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Price history

Chart

Interactive price chart (TradingView).

52-week range: 236.60 $ to 402.60 $ · Last price: 347.30 $ (As of: September 17, 2026)

Key figures

Key figures at a glance

Every figure we hold for this stock, grouped by topic. The question mark next to a label explains what the number means.

Basics

Market Cap ?The value of the entire company on the market: share price times total shares outstanding. 4,238.0$B
Shares Outstanding ?Total number of shares issued. Price times share count gives market cap. 5,867m
Float ?Share of stock freely tradable on the market — not locked up in the hands of founders, insiders, or major shareholders.
Beta ?Volatility versus the overall market: 1 = moves like the market, 2 = twice as much, under 1 = calmer than the market. 1.2

Performance

Perf. 1M ?Price performance over the last month. -9.30%
Perf. 3M ?Price performance over the last 3 months. 29.00%
Perf. 6M ?Price performance over the last 6 months. 12.70%
YTD Performance (%) ?Price performance since the start of the year (Year to Date). 10.70%
52-Week-High Distance ?How far the price sits below its highest point over the last 52 weeks. 0% means the stock is at its year high. -15.9%
Perf. 1Y ?Price performance over the last 12 months. 39.56%
Perf. 3Y ?Price performance over the last 3 years. 155.19%
Perf. 5Y ?Price performance over the last 5 years. 149.03%
Perf. 10Y ?Price performance over the last 10 years. 778.82%
Perf. Since Inception ?Price performance since the first available trading day (08/19/2004) — with a complete history, that is since the IPO. 13,865.26%

Technical Indicators

MA 38 Days ?Moving average of the last 38 trading days: the smoothed price path. A price above it signals short-term strength. 345.00$
MA 50 Days ?Moving average of the last 50 trading days — the most widely watched medium-term trend line. 345.80$
MA 200 Days ?Moving average of the last 200 trading days — the dividing line between a long-term uptrend and downtrend. 337.30$
RSI (14) ?Relative Strength Index over 14 days, scale 0 to 100: above 70 counts as overbought, below 30 as oversold. A hint on timing, not a verdict on the company. 53.4
Volatility 30 Days ?Price swings over the last 30 trading days, annualized. The higher the value, the more the price fluctuates. 23.0%
Volatility 250 Days ?Price swings over the last 250 trading days (roughly one market year), annualized. 31.3%

Calculated from the price history · as of 09/18/2026

Valuation

P/E ?Price-to-earnings ratio: how many years of profit does the stock cost? The lower, the cheaper the valuation. No earnings means no P/E. 26.1
Forward P/E ?P/E based on expected earnings for the next 12 months instead of past earnings — analysts' bet on the future. 22.0
PEG ?P/E divided by expected earnings growth: puts valuation in relation to growth. Around 1 is considered fair, well above that is pricey. 1.2
P/B ?Price-to-book ratio: market value relative to book equity. 8.9
P/S ?Price-to-sales ratio: market value divided by annual sales. Important for companies that aren't (yet) profitable. 9.5
EV/EBITDA ?Enterprise value including debt (EV) relative to operating profit before depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) — more comparable than P/E because debt counts too. Extreme values arise when EBITDA is near zero. 12.3
Price/FCF ?Market value divided by free cash flow: how many years of freely available cash does the stock cost? More honest than P/E because cash flow is harder to dress up. 79.6

Profitability

Gross Margin ?Gross margin: what's left of sales after only direct production costs are deducted — the product's pricing power. 60.9%
EBIT Margin ?EBIT margin: operating profit as a percentage of sales — the earning power of the core business before interest and taxes. 36.1%
Net Margin ?Net margin: what's left of sales as profit after ALL costs, interest, and taxes. 54.8%
Return on Equity ?Return on equity: how much profit does the company generate per year on shareholders' equity? 38.9%
Return on Assets ?Return on assets: how much profit the company generates from its total assets (equity and debt combined). 13.0%

Balance Sheet & Safety

Equity Ratio ?Equity ratio: equity as a share of total assets. The higher, the more resilient the balance sheet. 68.0%
Debt/Equity ?Leverage ratio: financial debt divided by equity. Under 1 is generally seen as solid; negative values mean negative equity. 0.2
Altman Z″ ?Edward Altman's bankruptcy early-warning score. We use the Z″ variant, built from four balance-sheet ratios — it is designed for service companies and non-manufacturers and uses book value instead of market value. On that scale: below 1.1 = danger zone, 2.6 and up = safe zone, in between a grey area. Because the classic Altman Z is calculated differently, the two numbers are not directly comparable. The formula does not fit banks, insurers, or real-estate stocks. fortress balance sheet 10.08
Piotroski ?Balance-sheet health check by Joseph Piotroski: 9 yes/no criteria on profit, cash flow, leverage, and efficiency. 7+ is very solid, under 3 is a red flag. 6 out of 9

Growth

Sales Growth Last Quarter ?Sales growth in the most recently reported quarter versus the same quarter a year ago (YoY). 21.80%
EPS Growth Last Quarter ?Growth in earnings per share in the most recently reported quarter versus the same quarter a year ago (YoY). 82.00%
Sales Growth (Year) ?Sales growth in the last fiscal year versus the year before. 15.13%
Forward Sales Growth ?Sales growth analysts expect over the next 12 months — an estimate, not a guarantee. 19.11%
Forward EPS Growth ?Earnings-per-share growth analysts expect over the next 12 months — an estimate, not a guarantee. 2.40%

Dividend

Dividend Yield ?Annual dividend divided by the current price: what percentage of your investment comes back as a payout each year. 0.26%
Dividend Per Share (TTM) ?Sum of dividends paid per share over the last 12 months. 0.86$
Payout Ratio ?Share of profit paid out as dividends. Over 100% means the company is paying out more than it earns — not sustainable long-term. 4.3%
Years Without a Cut ?How many years in a row the dividend hasn't been cut — a measure of reliability. 1Years
Increase Streak ?How many years in a row the dividend has been raised — the gold standard for dividend payers. 1Years

Quality & Screener

Stage ?Weinstein phases 1 through 4: 1 = basing, 2 = uptrend (the only buy phase), 3 = topping, 4 = downtrend. Measured against the 30-week line. 2
RS Rating ?Relative strength from 1 to 99: an RS of 95 means the stock has outperformed 95% of all stocks. 79
EPS Rating ?Earnings growth rating from 1 to 99 versus all stocks — high values mean above-average earnings growth. 83
Fundamental Rating ?Our own Fundamental Rating: 0 to 100 points with an A+ to F grade. 50 points is the average across the universe, 100 the best possible score. It scores growth, earnings surprises, analyst estimates, margins, cash flow, and balance-sheet safety — every stock percentile-ranked against all others. Grades: A+ from 95, A from 75, B from 55, C from 45, D from 25, E from 5, F below. B (73 out of 100)

Highlighted are things our editorial team noticed: green = stands out as strong, red = deserves a closer look. No single metric is a verdict on its own — always read it in context.

Comparison

Industry comparison

The stock alongside the largest companies in the same group. The median row is the middle value of the companies shown above — not of the whole industry.

Industry: Internet Content & Information

Industry comparison
Company Market cap ($B) P/E EV/EBITDA Gross Margin % EBIT Margin % Sales Growth (Year) % Perf. 1Y %
Alphabet Inc Class A GOOGL 4,238.0 26.1 12.3 60.9 36.1 15.1 39.6
Alphabet Inc Class C GOOG 4,226.7 25.7 12.3 60.9 36.1 15.1 37.9
Meta Platforms Inc. META 1,737.1 25.4 14.9 81.8 40.6 22.2 -11.8
Spotify Technology SA SPOT 108.7 39.3 23.1 32.8 15.8 9.7 -25.2
Nebius Group N.V. NBIS 48.1 50.6 74.3 131.7
Reddit, Inc. RDDT 31.1 44.2 35.5 91.4 27.6 69.4 -42.7
Baidu Inc BIDU 30.5 51.2 40.9 10.0 -3.0 -28.5
Tencent Music Entertainment Group TME 12.8 9.3 6.9 44.3 30.4 15.9 -68.5
Match Group Inc MTCH 10.3 18.3 11.7 74.9 27.4 0.2 19.1
Median of companies shown 48.1 25.7 14.9 60.9 29.0 15.1 -11.8

Based on the most recently reported figures. Only stocks from the same trading venue are lined up, so the market caps are counted in one currency. Compare in a chart →

Fiscal years

Annual Figures

Fiscal years from the audited annual reports, oldest first. EBIT is the operating profit before interest and taxes; total assets are everything the company owns.

Revenue, operating income and net income per fiscal year $M

Revenue Operating income Net income

2016 · Revenue: 90,272 $M 2016 · Operating income: 23,716 $M 2016 · Net income: 19,478 $M 2017 · Revenue: 110,855 $M 2017 · Operating income: 26,178 $M 2017 · Net income: 12,662 $M 2018 · Revenue: 136,819 $M 2018 · Operating income: 27,524 $M 2018 · Net income: 30,736 $M 2019 · Revenue: 161,857 $M 2019 · Operating income: 34,231 $M 2019 · Net income: 34,343 $M 2020 · Revenue: 182,527 $M 2020 · Operating income: 41,224 $M 2020 · Net income: 40,269 $M 2021 · Revenue: 257,637 $M 2021 · Operating income: 78,714 $M 2021 · Net income: 76,033 $M 2022 · Revenue: 282,836 $M 2022 · Operating income: 74,842 $M 2022 · Net income: 59,972 $M 2023 · Revenue: 307,394 $M 2023 · Operating income: 84,293 $M 2023 · Net income: 73,795 $M 2024 · Revenue: 350,018 $M 2024 · Operating income: 112,390 $M 2024 · Net income: 100,118 $M 2025 · Revenue: 402,836 $M 2025 · Operating income: 129,165 $M 2025 · Net income: 132,170 $M
2016201720182019202020212022202320242025
Annual Figures
Fiscal Year Revenue ($M) EBIT ($M) Net Income ($M) EPS ($) Operating Cash Flow ($M) Equity ($M) Total Assets ($M)
2016 90,272 23,716 19,478 1.39 36,036 139,036 167,497
2017 110,855 26,178 12,662 0.90 37,091 152,502 197,295
2018 136,819 27,524 30,736 2.19 47,971 177,628 232,792
2019 161,857 34,231 34,343 2.46 54,520 201,442 275,909
2020 182,527 41,224 40,269 2.93 65,124 222,544 319,616
2021 257,637 78,714 76,033 5.61 91,652 251,635 359,268
2022 282,836 74,842 59,972 4.56 91,495 256,144 365,264
2023 307,394 84,293 73,795 5.80 101,746 283,379 402,392
2024 350,018 112,390 100,118 8.04 125,299 325,084 450,256
2025 402,836 129,165 132,170 10.81 164,713 415,265 595,281

Quarters

Quarterly Figures

Each bar is one quarter, the last one is the most recent. Use the switch to step through the individual figures.

Revenue & Profit

Cash Flow

Balance Sheet

Margins

Per Share

Click the chart or tab into it, then use ← and → to step through the periods.

None of the selected stocks reports this metric. Pick another metric or switch between annual and quarterly.

These companies report in different currencies — switch on “Indexed” or pick a margin for a fair comparison.

The figures could not be loaded right now.

Sales Per Quarter ($M)
2024: Q4 · 96,469.0 $M Q4 2025: Q1 · 90,234.0 $M Q1 2025: Q2 · 96,428.0 $M Q2 2025: Q3 · 102,346.0 $M Q3 2025: Q4 · 113,896.0 $M Q4 2026: Q1 · 109,896.0 $M Q1 2026: Q2 · 119,796.0 $M Q2

Source: fundamental data

Quarterly Figures
Quarter EPS (Earnings Per Share) EPS YoY (%) Sales ($M) Sales YoY (%) Net Margin (%) OCF ($M) FCF ($M)
2024: Q4 2.15 30.90 96,469 11.80 27.50 39,113 24,837
2025: Q1 2.81 48.80 90,234 12.00 38.30 36,150 18,953
2025: Q2 2.31 22.30 96,428 13.80 29.20 27,747 5,301
2025: Q3 2.87 35.30 102,346 15.90 34.20 48,414 24,461
2025: Q4 2.82 31.10 113,896 18.10 30.30 52,402 24,551
2026: Q1 5.11 82.00 109,896 21.80 56.90 45,790 10,116
2026: Q2 9.11 294.40 119,796 24.20 93.70 39,069 -5,855

What Do These Terms Mean?

EPS (Earnings Per Share):
Quarterly profit divided by the total share count — how much of the profit works out to a single share.
YoY (Year over Year):
Change versus the same quarter a year ago — this is how you compare without seasonal distortion (e.g. the holiday shopping season).
Sales:
All revenue for the quarter, before any costs are deducted — the top line of the income statement.
Net Margin:
What percentage of sales is left over as profit in the end. Negative means the company is posting a loss.
OCF (Operating Cash Flow):
The cash that actually flows into the till from the core business during the quarter — harder to dress up than book profit.
FCF (Free Cash Flow):
Operating cash flow minus capital expenditures — the money that's genuinely free to use, say for paying down debt, buybacks, or dividends.

Compare with other stocks →

Screening

Appears in These Scanners

This stock currently matches 9 of our scanner strategies — each hit links to the scanner.

Backtested Scanners

Best Hits

Growth

Quality & Balance Sheet

Research

Only genuine hits from verified scanners count; pure ranking metrics (P/E, P/S, and similar, which just sort the whole universe) don't count as a hit. View all scanners

Outlook

Analysts & Price Target

Combined picture of the price targets and recommendations of every analyst covering the stock. Price targets are expectations for the next 12 months, not promises — and they often follow the price rather than predict it.

Consensus Sell 1 = Strong buy … 5 = Strong sell
Analyst Ratings 68
Price Target (average) 428.07$
Distance to price 23.3% The price target sits 23.3% above the current price.

Distribution of Recommendations

Strong Buy 40
Buy 16
Hold 12
Sell 0
Strong Sell 0

Estimates by Fiscal Year

Estimates by Fiscal Year
Fiscal Year EPS Estimate ($) EPS Range ($) Revenue Estimate ($M) Expected Growth Analysts
12/31/2026 20.61 19.70 – 21.92 498,402 90.6% 53
12/31/2027 14.88 13.67 – 17.21 613,374 -27.8% 54

Average of the analyst estimates for the coming fiscal years. The range shows how far the most optimistic and the most cautious estimate sit apart — the wider it is, the less certain the expectation.

Valuation

What is priced in?

Instead of guessing what the stock is worth, we turn the question around: what free cash flow growth has to happen for today’s market value to add up? The assumptions behind it can be moved.

Today’s market value implies roughly 26.7% growth in free cash flow per year over ten years (assumptions: discount rate 10.0%, terminal growth 2.5%).

What is priced in?
Free cash flow (last twelve months) $53.27B
Market cap $4.24T
Free cash flow in year ten $566.22B
Terminal value as a share of market value 70.4%

For comparison: over the past five years free cash flow grew by 11.3% per year.

It shows which assumption is built into today’s price, not whether that assumption will hold. Every assumption can be changed with the sliders; the figures move with them.

A simplified model calculation — not a forecast and not a recommendation.

AI classification

AI Rating

Sells AI

Alphabet erzielt direkte KI-Umsätze: Die Google Cloud verkauft KI-Infrastruktur, Gemini-Enterprise- und Workspace-Lösungen (Cloud-Umsatz 2025: 58,7 Mrd. US-Dollar, +36 %; Q1 2026: +63 %), der Konzern liefert zur Deckung der KI-Nachfrage sogar eigene TPU-Hardware an Kunden, und die 29,5-Mrd.-Übernahme von Wiz wird ausdrücklich als Investment in KI-getriebene Sicherheit begründet. Nach der Vorrang-Regel gewinnt „Verkauft KI“ vor den ebenfalls vorhandenen konkreten KI-Wettbewerbsrisiken (Bedroht-Passagen zu Suche/Werbung).

View the full file — quotes, sources, reviewed filings
„Today, all 15 of our half-billion-user products — including seven with two billion users — use our Gemini models. For our Google Cloud customers, our offerings are helping organizations stay at the forefront of innovation with solutions such as Gemini Enterprise and Gemini for Google Workspace."

Heute nutzen alle 15 unserer Produkte mit mehr als einer halben Milliarde Nutzern — darunter sieben mit zwei Milliarden Nutzern — unsere Gemini-Modelle. Unseren Google-Cloud-Kunden helfen unsere Angebote, mit Lösungen wie Gemini Enterprise und Gemini für Google Workspace an der Spitze der Innovation zu bleiben.

10-K · 2026-02-05 · View SEC filing

„It led us to be a pioneer in the development of artificial intelligence (AI) and, since 2016, be an AI-first company."

Das machte uns zu einem Pionier in der Entwicklung künstlicher Intelligenz (KI) und, seit 2016, zu einem Unternehmen, das KI an die erste Stelle setzt („AI-first company“).

10-K · 2026-02-05 · View SEC filing

„To meet the AI compute capacity demands of our customers, we are engaging in the supply of our custom hardware which may increase our costs and operational complexity."

Um den KI-Rechenkapazitätsbedarf unserer Kunden zu decken, liefern wir auch unsere eigene, maßgeschneiderte Hardware, was unsere Kosten und unsere operative Komplexität erhöhen kann.

10-Q · 2026-04-30 · View SEC filing

„This acquisition represents an investment by Google Cloud to accelerate our capabilities in multicloud and artificial intelligence (AI)-driven security."

Diese Übernahme ist ein Investment von Google Cloud, um unsere Fähigkeiten in Multicloud- und KI-getriebener Sicherheit zu beschleunigen.

10-Q · 2026-04-30 · View SEC filing

Filings Reviewed: 10-Q 2026-04-30 · 10-Q 2025-10-30 · 10-Q 2025-07-24 · 10-Q 2025-04-25 · 10-K 2026-02-05 · 10-K 2025-02-05

Rated on July 14, 2026 · How the Rating Is Built

Earnings calls

What the Earnings Calls Reveal

Between Q1 2024 and Q2 2026 Alphabet delivered operationally: quarterly revenue rose from 80.5 to 119.8 billion dollars, and the combined Cloud and YouTube run rate of more than 100 billion dollars promised in Q1 2024 came in at 110 billion by the end of 2024. Something else stands out. On the central question of what the new AI answers in Search actually earn per click, the advertising chief gave a word-for-word identical reply in five consecutive calls and declined to give details. At the same time capital expenditure guidance was revised upward four times within six quarters, and the compute capacity shortage has now lasted seven quarters, with no call putting a date on its end. Anyone looking only at the growth figures misses how thin the statements on the cost and return of the AI transition still are.

Red flags Strong but evasive 10 calls reviewed, 2024-Q1 through 2026-Q2 · As of August 2, 2026

Capex guidance raised four times

On the Q3 2024 call CFO Anat Ashkenazi flagged higher investment for 2025 but explicitly said it would likely not be the same percentage step-up as the year before. In Q4 2024 the figure was around 75 billion dollars, confirmed in Q1 2025, raised to 85 billion in Q2 2025 and to 91 to 93 billion in Q3 2025. Actual 2025 capex came in at 91.4 billion dollars against a good 50 billion in 2024, so there was no flattening at all. The same pattern repeated for 2026: Q4 2025 said 175 to 185 billion, Q1 2026 made that 180 to 190, and Q2 2026 moved to 195 to 205 billion. Four upward revisions in six quarters mean every number named held for only a few months.

Five calls, the same non-answer

From Q3 2024 through Q3 2025 analysts asked on every call what the AI answers in Search earn, meaning click-through rate, conversion and ads per results page. Advertising chief Philipp Schindler replied five times in identical words that monetisation runs at approximately the same rate. Pressed directly by JPMorgan in Q1 2025 on click-through rates and conversion he said he did not think this was the moment to go into those details. In Q3 2025 the formula appeared twice in the same call, in response to JPMorgan and to Bernstein. From the Q4 2025 call it no longer appears, and in Q2 2026 the wording is only that the company is encouraged by monetisation performance. Two years on there is still no hard number for the revenue per AI answer.

Capacity shortage in its seventh quarter

In Q4 2024 management admitted for the first time that it had exited the year with more demand than available compute capacity. In Q1 2025 the CFO said only that capacity deployment would be relatively higher towards the end of 2025; she did not promise an end to the shortage and in the same call expressly reaffirmed the continuing tightness. In Q2 2025 the tightness was extended into 2026, and in Q3 2025 explicitly to Q4 2025 and all of 2026. In Q1 2026 Sundar Pichai said cloud revenue would have been higher with more capacity. In Q2 2026 Alphabet announced it would rent third-party capacity from Q3 2026, explicitly accepting margin pressure in cloud for it. The shortage now spans seven quarters, with no call putting a date on its end.

User numbers only once they flatter

In Q3 2024 Barclays asked how Gemini usage compared with the largest competitor. Pichai gave no figure and pointed to API volume instead. In Q1 2025 the same analyst asked again after the antitrust trial had disclosed 35 million daily users, and again got no number, only a reference to 1.5 billion users of AI Overviews. From Q2 2025 Alphabet suddenly quoted monthly figures for the Gemini app: 450 million, then 650 million in Q3 2025, 750 million in Q4 2025 and 950 million in Q2 2026. The daily usage that was actually asked about has never been published, and in Q2 2026 the company said only that it had tripled within a year. The metric changed precisely when it became flattering.

From cost discipline to an equity raise

The Q1 and Q2 2024 calls were dominated by the phrase durably reengineering the cost base, together with an explicit commitment to full-year 2024 operating margin expansion. That commitment was met. After that, any statement about expected full-year margin disappeared from the calls and was replaced by references to pressure on the profit and loss statement from rising depreciation. Capital policy turned at the same time: around 70 billion dollars went back to shareholders in 2024, while buybacks fell from 15.1 billion in Q1 2025 to 5.5 billion in Q4 2025. Long-term debt rose from about 16 billion in mid-2025 to 98.2 billion in Q2 2026, plus an equity raise. In Q2 2026 free cash flow was negative for the first time at minus 5.9 billion dollars.

The datable commitments were kept

For all the evasion on detail, what management promised with a date attached did arrive. The combined Cloud and YouTube run rate of more than 100 billion dollars announced in Q1 2024 stood at 110 billion at the end of 2024. Closing the YouTube Shorts monetisation gap, flagged on every call since Q1 2024, was achieved in Q2 2025, and since Q3 2025 Shorts earn more per watch hour in the US than traditional in-stream video. The Astra features promised for 2025 shipped as Gemini Live in Q1 2025, and Gemini 3 arrived in December 2025 as announced in Q3 2025. The Waymo launches in Atlanta and Miami also went live on the stated timelines. The gap is not in product commitments but in the numbers on cost and return.

Management promises

  • 2024-Q1 — Cloud and YouTube to exit 2024 at a combined annual revenue run rate of more than 100 billion dollars. Confirmed in Q4 2024 at 110 billion dollars, therefore beaten. kept
  • 2024-Q1 — Full-year 2024 Alphabet operating margin expansion relative to 2023 is promised. Documented in Q4 2024: revenue up 14 percent, operating income up 33 percent to 112 billion dollars. After that all margin guidance was discontinued. kept
  • 2024-Q3 — The 2025 capex increase would likely not be the same percentage step-up as the one from 2023 to 2024. 2025 capex reached 91.4 billion dollars after a good 50 billion in 2024, an increase of about three quarters. Even the initial 75 billion figure was exceeded twice. broken
  • 2024-Q4 — Capex of approximately 75 billion dollars is planned for 2025. Raised to 85 billion in Q2 2025 and to 91 to 93 billion in Q3 2025, with 91.4 billion actually spent. The plan held for two quarters. broken
  • 2025-Q1 — Relatively higher capacity deployment towards the end of 2025. Kept: quarterly capex rose through 2025 from 17.2 to 22.4, 24.0 and 27.9 billion dollars, and Q3 2025 confirmed an improved pace of server deployment and data centre construction. An end to the shortage was never promised; the same call reaffirmed the continuing tightness. kept
  • 2025-Q4 — Capex of 175 to 185 billion dollars is planned for 2026. Raised to 180 to 190 billion in Q1 2026 and to 195 to 205 billion in Q2 2026. Two revisions in two quarters. broken
  • 2024-Q3 — Features from the Astra research project were to ship as early as 2025. Shipped as Gemini Live in Q1 2025 and explicitly attributed to Astra there. kept
  • 2025-Q3 — Gemini 3 to be released later in the same year. Confirmed in Q4 2025 as a December 2025 launch, with what the company called the fastest model adoption in its history. kept
  • 2026-Q2 — The next large base model Gemini 4 is in pretraining and is meant to compete at the frontier. No date given. At the same time management openly conceded a gap in agentic coding for the first time. open

Based on public earnings call transcripts. Reviewed: 10 transcripts 2024-Q1 through 2026-Q2.

Growth

Growth Score

Ten checks against the annual reports — each one passed counts a point.

7 of 10 Solid growth
  • Revenue grows by more than 15% a year over three years 12.5%
  • More than 10% revenue growth is expected for the coming year 19.1%
  • Share count grows by less than 3% a year -2.4%
  • Revenue growth plus cash-flow margin add up to at least 40 ("Rule of 40") 33.3%
  • Gross margin at 40% or higher and without meaningful erosion 59.7%
  • Goodwill from acquisitions does not grow faster than revenue 5.6%
  • Net debt below twice EBITDA 67,552 m net cash
  • Operating cash flow covers the profits of the last three years 85,675 m
  • Return on capital at 15% or higher, or up versus two years ago 26.2%
  • Insiders hold at least 10% or are net buyers 1.2%

A criterion without figures counts neither as passed nor as failed; a score is only produced from 7 judgeable criteria upwards. Source: fundamental data. All ten criteria in detail

Quality check

AAQS

10/10 Quality stock

The AAQS (AlleAktien Quality Score) checks 10 quality criteria on growth, profitability, and balance-sheet strength — per the methodology developed and published by AlleAktien, calculated by us from our own fundamental data. A stock counts as a quality stock from 9 out of 10 points. Where a company has a shorter listing history, we calculate over the fiscal years available (at least five).

  • Sales growth 10Y > 5% 18.1%
  • Exp. sales growth 3Y > 5% 23.4%
  • EBIT growth 10Y > 5% 20.7%
  • Exp. EBIT growth 3Y > 5% 17.4%
  • Net debt < 4x EBIT -0.5x
  • EBIT positive, 10Y straight 10
  • Max. EBIT decline < 50% 4.9%
  • Return on equity > 15% 34.6%
  • ROCE > 15% 26.2%
  • Expected return > 10% 19.4%

View stocks with the full AAQS score · Read the methodology at AlleAktien

Source: fundamental data

Insiders

Insider Transactions

Reportable transactions by officers and major shareholders from SEC Form 4 filings. "Other" includes things like stock grants and option exercises without a buy/sell character.

Insider Transactions
Date Person Role Type Shares Price Value
Sep 14, 2026 Arnold Frances Director Other 11 0.00
Sep 14, 2026 Arnold Frances Director Other 1 0.00
Sep 14, 2026 Arnold Frances Director Other 0 0.00
Sep 14, 2026 Washington Robin L Director Other 0 0.00
Sep 14, 2026 Washington Robin L Director Other 1 0.00
Sep 14, 2026 Shriram Kavitark Ram Director Other 0 0.00
Sep 14, 2026 Shriram Kavitark Ram Director Other 1 0.00
Sep 14, 2026 Hennessy John L. Director Other 1 0.00
Sep 14, 2026 Doerr L John Director Other 0 0.00
Sep 14, 2026 Doerr L John Director Other 1 0.00

View all insider transactions →

The company

About the Company

Alphabet Inc. bietet diverse Produkte und Plattformen in den USA, Europa, dem Nahen Osten, Afrika, dem asiatisch-pazifischen Raum, Kanada und Lateinamerika an.

CEO Insider Trades (12 Mo.)
selling own stock
Employees
198,933
Headquarters
Mountain View, CA
Address
1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, 94043 Mountain View, United States
Phone
650-253-0000
Website
abc.xyz
IPO Date
08/19/2004
ISIN
US02079K3059
Stock Split
20:1 on 07/18/2022
Stock Split
1033:517 on 04/03/2014

Management

Management
Name Title Birth Year
Sundar Pichai CEO & Director 1973
Ruth M. Porat President & Chief Investment Officer 1958
Lawrence Edward Page II Co-Founder & Director 1973
Sergey Brin Co-Founder & Director 1974
Anat Ashkenazi Senior VP & CFO 1973
J. Kent Walker President of Global Affairs, Chief Legal Officer & Company Secretary 1961
Philipp Schindler Senior Vice President & Chief Business Officer of Google 1971
Marsida Saraci Principal Accounting Officer, VP & Controller 1979
Sir Demis Hassabis Ph.D. Chief Scientist
James H. Friedland Head of Investor Relations 1970

Executives per the latest required filings; titles kept in their original language. Source: fundamental data.

Data as of: September 17, 2026 · Source: fundamental data & SEC filings (annual and quarterly reports, 10-K/10-Q)

Note: pure fact-based analysis, not investment advice and not a solicitation to buy or sell. All figures without guarantee.

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