Alphabet Class C ( (GOOG) ) has been popular among investors this week. Here is a recap of the key news on this stock.
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Alphabet Class C shares have extended their powerful rally, climbing roughly 6% over the past week and more than 115% in the last year, as Wall Street doubles down on a bullish outlook. Analysts maintain a Strong Buy consensus, with average 12‑month targets near $386 versus about $334 today, implying mid‑teens upside for investors betting on continued momentum.
TD Cowen’s John Blackledge reiterated his Buy rating and $375 target, calling for about 19.6% revenue growth in Q1 2026 and earnings ahead of consensus, driven by robust search advertising and a roughly 50% surge in cloud revenue. He highlights AI as a “material driver” for both Search and Cloud, supported by the Wiz acquisition and new Gemini‑powered features that are lifting user engagement.
Alphabet Class C’s valuation, at about 28x 2026 earnings ex‑cash and 18x EV/EBITDA, is still seen as attractive given its dominant ad business, scaled consumer platforms, high‑growth Cloud unit, and optionality from bets like Waymo. The stock is also outperforming the S&P 500 year to date, reinforcing its appeal as a core large‑cap tech holding for growth‑oriented portfolios.
Beyond the numbers, Alphabet is pushing deeper into government and defense work, as Google holds talks with the U.S. Department of Defense to bring its Gemini AI models into classified environments under strict safeguards. A deal would expand its public‑sector footprint and demand for its AI infrastructure, potentially adding a new, sticky revenue stream over time.
Regulatory risk remains a key counterweight, with the EU pressing Google to share search query and click data with rivals under the Digital Markets Act, a move that could boost competitors and AI firms like OpenAI and Anthropic. Alphabet has vowed to fight what it calls regulatory “overreach,” arguing the rules threaten user privacy, setting up a potential legal showdown that investors will need to monitor.