Alphabet (GOOGL) is scheduled to announce its results for the first quarter of 2026 on Wednesday, April 29, after the market closes. GOOGL stock has rallied more than 114% over the past year, driven by the strength in the company’s cloud business, demand for its TPU (tensor processing unit) chips, and strategic AI deals. Wall Street analysts expect the company to post revenues of $106.89 billion, up about 19% from the year-ago quarter, according to data from the TipRanks Forecast page.
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Meanwhile, earnings are expected to increase by about 6.4% from the year-ago quarter to $2.63 per share. Notably, GOOGL has an encouraging earnings surprise history. The company surpassed earnings estimates in all of the previous nine quarters.
Recent News Ahead of Q4
Late last week, Alphabet’s Google said that it will invest up to $40 billion in Anthropic, an AI startup. This includes an immediate $10 billion to help Anthropic expand its computing power using Google’s cloud and chips.
On April 22, Google kicked off its Cloud Next ‘26 event in Las Vegas, where it introduced the TPU v8, the company’s eighth-generation AI chips. These come in two versions: one for training complex models and another for running AI tasks quickly.
Also, recently, Google expanded its Gemini integration in Chrome to more regions, including India and Canada. This allows over 3.5 billion users to use AI directly within their browser tabs.
Analysts’ Views on GOOGL Ahead of Q4 Results
Ahead of Q1 earnings, top Evercore ISI analyst Mark Mahaney reiterated an Outperform rating and a $400 price target on Alphabet. He expects a modest beat in Q1, with revenue and ad sales likely to come in around or slightly above Street estimates.
Mahaney noted that Search trends remain solid, with ad spending either steady or improving, while YouTube could be a softer spot with mixed signals and some slowdown. He also sees Google Cloud as a key growth driver, with demand staying strong and backlog rising, which could lead to upside. However, he expects margin gains to stay limited, as higher data center costs and ongoing hiring in AI and Cloud may offset the benefit of solid revenue growth.
Likewise top BofA analyst Justin Post reiterated a Buy rating and a $370 price target on Alphabet, calling it a “top pick.” He expects a slight beat in Q1, with revenue and earnings coming in above Street estimates, helped by strength in Search and Cloud. Post sees Gemini driving better search usage and monetization, while cloud growth could pick up further. He also expects margins to improve on AI-led efficiency gains.
However, he flagged risks around higher AI spending, possible ad growth slowdown
Options Traders Anticipate a 5.59% Move
Using TipRanks’ Options tool, we can see what options traders are expecting from the stock immediately after its earnings report. The expected earnings move is determined by calculating the at-the-money straddle of the options closest to expiration after the earnings announcement. If this sounds complicated, don’t worry, the Options tool does this for you.
Indeed, it currently says that options traders are expecting a 5.59% move in either direction.
Is GOOGL Stock a Buy Right Now?
Heading into Q1 earnings, Wall Street has a Strong Buy consensus rating on Alphabet stock based on 26 Buys and five Holds. The average GOOGL stock price target of $387.68 indicates 12.57% upside potential from current levels.
