Alphabet stock (NASDAQ:GOOG)(NASDAQ:GOOGL) is trading lower Thursday after the company beat analyst estimates for the fourth quarter. Analysts recognize a potential buying opportunity and are mostly raising their price targets on the Google and YouTube parent company.
The Alphabet Analysts
- Bank of America analyst Justin Post maintained a Buy rating on Alphabet with a price target of $370.
- Needham analyst Laura Martin maintained a Buy rating and raised the price target from $330 to $400.
- JPMorgan analyst Doug Anmuth maintained an Overweight rating and raised the price target from $385 to $395.
- Rosenblatt analyst Barton Crockett maintained a Neutral rating and raised the price target from $279 to $357.
- KeyBanc analyst Justin Patterson maintained an Overweight rating and raised the price target from $360t $370.
- Scotiabank analyst Nat Schindler maintained a Sector Outperform rating and raised the price target from $375 to $400.
- Wedbush analyst Scott Devitt maintained an Outperform rating and raised the price target from $360 to $370.
Bank of America on GOOGL
Strength of Gemini is driving Google Search and Cloud acceleration, Post said in a new investor note.
"We think more to come with model improvements and capacity growth," Post said.
The analyst said the "Gemini halo effect" is shining bright for Alphabet.
"We continue to see opportunity for better monetization of zero-click searches that are being converted to AI Overviews as a key upside driver from here."
Post said the monetization of the Gemini app, with 750 million monthly active users, is a future revenue catalyst.
Needham on GOOGL
Martin said there were pros and cons to Alphabet's fourth quarter results that had "strong revenue momentum."
The analyst said operating expenses grew faster than the company's revenue growth.
"GOOGL cited its biggest challenges in FY26 as power availability and infrastructure build-out, not LLM model quality or competition," Martin said. "To us, this implies that GOOGL believes that its AI leadership is secure, but scaling up is its key risk in FY26."
JPMorgan on GOOGL
Fourth quarter results from Alphabet were "very strong," Anmuth said in a new investor note.
"But capex will be the story coming out,” he added.
The analyst said the guidance of $175 billion to $185 billion for 2026 Capex was above estimates of $142 billion.
"We believe the doubling of Capex y/y comes from a position of strength."
Rosenblatt on GOOGL
A strong backlog for Google Cloud and the higher-than-expected Capex were the two key takeaways from Alphabet's quarter for Crockett.
"Google Cloud stole the show in Alphabet's 4Q25, with backlog spiking 55% Q/Q to $240B, topping AWS' $200B backlog in 3Q25, putting Google Cloud now toe-to-toe with the Amazon unit in the race to be the largest cloud service provider," Crockett said, referencing AWS from Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN).
KeyBanc on GOOGL
Increased Capex spending likely helps Alphabet "bulk up" for its AI-related growth, Patterson said in a new investor note.
"Concerns on the scale of investment will likely persist, but it is hard to argue with the results; Search accelerated throughout 2025, Cloud backlog grew ~55% q/q in 4Q, and Gemini now has >750M MAUs," Patterson said.
The analyst raises revenue estimates, while lowering earnings per share estimates and ultimately raises the price target on Alphabet stock.
"Anything but consistent Search and Cloud growth risks de-leverage and de-rating. Welcome to the 2026 tech stock investment jungle."
Scotiabank on GOOGL
Schindler said the big revenue beat was positive and enough to offset concerns of the increased Capex.
"Alphabet printed one of the more memorable quarters recently," Schindler said.
The analyst said headline figures like Search growth, Google Cloud growth and the Gemini monthly active users were all impressive.
"Just one year ago, Google was viewed as an ‘AI loser,' missing the first-mover advantage that OpenAI had. That narrative has been completely flipped on its head."
The analyst said investing in Alphabet gives you access to an AI player, venture optionality with Waymo and a winner in the AI race versus the competition.
"We've been bullish here since our initiation, and our views haven't changed – if anything, we have more conviction here."
Wedbush on GOOGL
Fourth quarter results from Alphabet were strong, Devitt said in a new investor note.
The analyst said the higher-than-expected Capex will help the company's growth.
"While the planned spending is significant and will likely pressure margins, we view the investment this year constructively as it will support ongoing adoption and growth across AI infrastructure, genAI solutions, and core GCP products," Devitt said.
The analyst said the further quarter results validate Alphabet as a "leading AI beneficiary."
"Concerns around the impact of genAI on the business are fading, and we are increasingly constructive on the longer-term durability of the segment."
GOOGL Stock Price Action
Alphabet stock is down 1.3% to $328.72 on Thursday, versus a 52-week trading range of $140.53 to $349.00. Alphabet shares are up 69% over the last 52 weeks.
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