Alphabet stock is among the few stocks pacing gainers in the Communication Services sector — (GOOG) +4%, (GOOGL) +4% on Thursday afternoon — after the company beat profit estimates by over 20%. The stock has demonstrated strong performance, rising from the $140-150 range to reach new all-time highs around $286, representing a year-to-date increase of over 44%.
The rally has been fueled by several factors including better-than-expected financial results, accelerating growth in key revenue streams, and growing investor confidence in Alphabet’s AI initiatives — amid a favorable digital advertising landscape, and despite previous concerns about potential antitrust issues and AI competition. Analysts were uniform in upbeat reactions to the third quarter’s financials.
Analyst Reactions
Jonathan Weber
Seeking Alpha analyst Jonathan Weber expressed a bullish outlook on Alphabet, highlighting the company’s substantial earnings beat and impressive growth performance. He emphasizes Alphabet’s strong fundamentals, margin improvement, and attractive valuation relative to other major tech stocks.
- “Per-share profits were around 27% higher than what analysts had forecasted, which makes for one of the largest earnings beats I have seen in recent memory”
- “Sales were up by 16% versus one year earlier, which is a pretty nice growth rate in absolute terms, and which compares favorably to the growth rate the company has seen in recent years”
- “When we look at profits on a companywide basis, we see that operating profits were up by 10% – a little less than the revenue increase”
- “GOOG remains way cheaper than Tesla (TSLA), Apple (AAPL), Microsoft (MSFT), Nvidia (NVDA), and Amazon.com (AMZN), making it a good value versus the other Magnificent 7 stocks”
- “I thus remain bullish on Alphabet for its strong growth, excellent wide-moat business model, and still quite appealing valuation on a relative basis”
The Asian Investor
Meanwhile, Seeking Alpha analyst The Asian Investor maintains a bullish stance on Alphabet, focusing on the company’s strong Cloud growth and robust digital advertising performance. The analysis suggests that Alphabet’s shares remain attractively valued compared to tech peers, with strong fundamentals supporting a positive outlook.
- “Alphabet delivered strong Q3’25 earnings, driven by double-digit Cloud growth and robust digital advertising performance”
- “Google’s aggressive AI and Cloud-focused capex are fueling operating income expansion, with free cash flow up 38.7% year-over-year”
- “Google is set to benefit from a strong digital advertising market in Q4 and will likely continue to buy back a ton of its shares going forward”
- “Shares remain attractively valued at 25.7X forward P/E, which is below the big tech group average, with potential revaluation as AI and Cloud growth accelerates”
- “Risks include a potential slowdown in enterprise AI CapEx or weakening free cash flow, but current fundamentals support a strong buy outlook”
The Techie
SA analyst The Techie remains optimistic about Alphabet’s long-term prospects, highlighting the company’s record quarterly revenue and continued momentum in cloud computing. The analysis suggests that despite recent outperformance, Alphabet’s valuation remains reasonable compared to cloud competitors and other major tech stocks.
- “Alphabet Inc. delivered record Q3 revenue of $102.4B, with standout 34% year-over-year Google Cloud growth and strong YouTube ad performance”
- “GOOG’s AI momentum is accelerating, with Gemini integration, major cloud partnerships, and robust capital investment fueling leadership in search and cloud”
- “Valuation remains attractive versus peers, with superior profitability, scalability, and sector-leading growth metrics supporting further upside potential”
- “I remain bullish on GOOG stock in the long term, and I see upside supported by cloud, YouTube, and Waymo, despite recent stock outperformance and all-time highs”
- “The company’s diversification strategy, in cloud computing, streaming, AI, search and advertising, and autonomous driving, is unprecedented”
Evercore ISI
Evercore ISI reiterated its Outperform rating on Alphabet with a price target increase to $325 from $300, emphasizing the company’s broad-based strength across all major revenue segments. The firm was particularly impressed by Alphabet’s ability to accelerate growth across multiple business lines simultaneously.
- “The results beat expectations across the board”
- “All key revenue lines (total advertising, search, YouTube ads, Cloud) reported accelerating growth – a very impressive accomplishment”
Truist Securities
Truist Securities maintains a Buy rating on Alphabet and has increased its price target to $320 from $285, noting the company’s ability to exceed expectations across virtually all revenue lines. The firm specifically points to Alphabet’s ability to accelerate search revenue despite heightened competitive pressures in the AI space.
- “The results topped Street expectations across virtually all revenue lines”
- “Search revenue accelerated on a quarter-over-quarter basis even amid AI competition”
Barclays
Barclays holds an Overweight rating on Alphabet and has raised its price target to $315 from $250, highlighting the company’s accelerating revenue streams and ability to capitalize on AI advancements. The firm expresses confidence in Alphabet’s positioning within the evolving technological landscape, particularly if it can maintain its competitive edge against emerging AI threats.
- “Alphabet saw each of its key revenue streams accelerate in 3Q on the back of AI tailwinds across the entire business, and a solid digital advertising industry backdrop”
- “If the company can shrug off AI competitive threats to Search in ’26, we think shares can continue to work higher”
Stifel
Stifel maintains a Buy rating on Alphabet, pointing to impressive growth in Google Cloud backlog and the company’s continued ability to drive growth at scale. The firm highlights Alphabet’s successful multi-pronged strategy of leveraging established revenue streams while investing in future growth drivers.
- “Google Cloud backlog was $155B, which represents a significant year-over-year growth acceleration vs. 2Q25”
- “Alphabet continues to drive growth at scale through strength in mobile search, YouTube, and programmatic advertising, while investing in other key initiatives (cloud, hardware, AI) that should serve as multi-year growth levers”