Track market-moving stories before they get noisy

Key Takeaways Alphabet is expected to post Q2 revenues of $101.22B and EPS of $2.86, both up more than 23%.GOOGL's Search, Cloud and YouTube growth is being fueled by Gemini, AI tools and stronger engagement.Alphabet's $180B-$190B capex plan and Wiz dilution could pressure margins and free cash flow. Alphabet (GOOGL - Free Report) is set to report second-quarter 2026 results on July 22.

For second-quarter 2026, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings is pegged at $2.86 per share, unchanged over the past 30 days, and indicating 23.81% year-over-year growth.

The consensus mark for second-quarter revenues is pegged at $101.22 billion, implying growth of 23.86% from the year-ago quarter’s reported figure.

Alphabet has an impressive earnings surprise history. Its earnings outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate in all the trailing four quarters, the average surprise being 34.43%.

Consensus Estimate Trend
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Let’s see how things have shaped up for the upcoming announcement:

Growing AI Usage in Search & Cloud to Aid GOOGL’s Q2 ResultsAlphabet’s second-quarter results are expected to have benefited from sustained momentum in Google Search. AI Overviews and AI Mode have been increasing user engagement and pushing search queries to record levels, while Gemini is improving Google’s understanding of longer and more complex queries. This should have supported paid-click growth, ad relevance and advertiser returns. The continued adoption of AI Max and Performance Max could also have lifted advertising demand as businesses use generative AI for targeting, creative development and bidding. Search revenues increased 19% in the first quarter of 2026, supported by retail and financial-services advertisers. The trend is expected to have continued in the second quarter of 2026.

Google Cloud is likely to have remained the fastest-growing part of Alphabet’s business. First-quarter Cloud revenues surged 63% year over year to $20 billion as enterprise AI solutions became the segment’s largest growth contributor. Demand remains strong for Gemini models, AI infrastructure, cybersecurity, data analytics and Workspace. Cloud’s backlog reached roughly $462 billion, with slightly more than half expected to convert into revenues over the next 24 months. A fuller quarterly revenue contribution from Wiz after the acquisition closed in March is expected to have benefited top-line growth.

YouTube should have provided another growth catalyst, supported by direct-response advertising, connected-TV viewing, Shorts monetization and improving brand demand. U.S. users are watching more than 200 million hours of YouTube content on television screens each day, while Gemini-powered recommendations and creator-advertiser matching should have improved engagement and advertising effectiveness. Subscription revenues are expected to have benefited from YouTube Music, Premium and Premium Lite, which were scheduled to enter more than a dozen additional countries during the second quarter. Google One’s AI plans and the Gemini app should further strengthen subscriptions, platforms and devices revenues after Alphabet reached 350 million paid subscriptions in the first quarter of 2026.

However, Alphabet’s aggressive AI infrastructure expansion could weigh on second-quarter profitability and free cash flow. The company raised its 2026 capital-expenditure outlook to $180-$190 billion, with most spending aimed at servers, data centers and networking infrastructure. These investments are expected to have increased depreciation, energy, equipment and data-center operating costs. GOOGL’s plan to continue hiring in AI and Cloud and spending on marketing for Gemini and Search is expected to have raised operating expenses in the to-be-reported quarter.

The dilutive effect of the Wiz acquisition, as well as weakness in Google Network advertising, has been a headwind. Network revenues declined 4% year over year in the first quarter, reflecting lower AdSense revenues and a 9% decline in impressions. The trend is expected to have continued in the second quarter of 2026.

GOOGL Shares Lag Sector, Trade at a PremiumAlphabet’s shares have climbed 13.3% year to date (YTD), underperforming the broader Zacks Computer & Technology sector’s return of 16.6%. Alphabet shares have underperformed Apple (AAPL - Free Report) but outperformed Amazon (AMZN - Free Report) and Microsoft (MSFT - Free Report) over the same timeframe. While Apple and Amazon shares have jumped 22.6% and 8.3% YTD, respectively, Microsoft has dropped 17%.

GOOGL Stock’s Price Performance
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

GOOGL shares are overvalued, as suggested by Value Score D.

Currently, GOOGL is trading at a premium, with a forward 12-month price/sales of 9.04X compared with the broader sector’s 6.88X, Apple’s 9.6X, Microsoft’s 7.75X and Amazon’s 3.04X.

GOOGL Shares Trade at a Premium
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

GOOGL Benefits From AI Push & CloudAlphabet’s most significant long-term opportunity is the integration of Gemini across its global product portfolio. Gemini already powers products serving billions of users, including Search, YouTube, Maps, Chrome and Workspace. AI Mode, personalized search, agentic features and the Gemini app can increase engagement while creating new advertising, subscription and transaction opportunities. Alphabet has also reduced the cost of core AI responses by more than 30%, suggesting that improving model and infrastructure efficiency could support profitable AI monetization over time.

Google Cloud has substantial long-term growth visibility. Approximately 75% of Cloud customers are using Alphabet’s AI products, while new customer acquisition and the number of deals worth between $100 million and $1 billion doubled year over year in the first quarter of 2026. The accelerating Cloud backlog ($462 billion at the end of Q1), growing Gemini Enterprise adoption and demand for Vertex AI, BigQuery, Workspace and Wiz provide a multiyear revenue pipeline. Direct sales of TPUs for customer-owned data centers also expand Alphabet beyond hosted cloud services into a new infrastructure market.

GOOGL’s vertically integrated AI stack is a structural advantage. The company controls models, software, data-center infrastructure and custom processors such as TPUs and Axion CPUs while also offering NVIDIA GPUs. This breadth allows Alphabet to optimize performance and costs across Search, Cloud and consumer applications.

Buy GOOGL Ahead of Q2While elevated AI infrastructure investments and higher operating expenses may weigh on near-term margins, robust AI adoption across Search, Cloud and YouTube are strengthening GOOGL’s competitive position in fast-growing AI and cloud markets. With Gemini driving engagement across its ecosystem, a rapidly expanding Cloud business and a differentiated full-stack AI strategy, Alphabet remains well positioned to capitalize on the long-term AI opportunity. Investors should continue to benefit from the company's strong innovation pipeline and diversified growth.

Alphabet currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), suggesting that it may be wise to buy the stock ahead of second-quarter earnings. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

© Dimitrios Kambouris / Getty Images Entertainment via Getty Images

As it turned out, it was Warren Buffett who was to thank for Berkshire Hathaway‘s (NYSE:BRK.B | BRK.B Price Prediction) big bet in Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG). And while the great Oracle of Omaha may have wished he’d gotten the legendary conglomerate into the AI blue-chip far sooner in the game, I think it’s far better late than never, especially when it comes to a company that’s already shown it knows how to generate serious alpha over the long haul.

Indeed, if you’re surprised that Warren Buffett himself would choose Alphabet, you’re definitely not alone, given the man’s long-time hesitance when it comes to stocks within the technology sector.

The next great Warren Buffett bet after Apple? Now that we’ve got more clarity that Buffett himself made the move, as he admitted in a sitdown with CNBC’s Becky Quick, the big question is whether Alphabet is about to take the throne away from Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) as the largest holding within the Berkshire Hathaway public portfolio.

As it turned out, trimming Apple shares over the years wasn’t the optimal call, especially with the iPhone maker blasting off to new all-time highs while much of the Magnificent Seven are still some percentage off their highs. And while Buffett still had high praise for the Cupertino-based giant, which is poised to deliver Siri AI in a matter of weeks, the valuation is a giant question mark right now. After soaring 35% in six months, Apple now trades for more than 40.0 times trailing price-to-earnings (P/E).

That’s the most expensive that Apple has been in a very long time, and prospective new buyers are right to question the higher price of admission, even given the catalysts on the horizon and the big CEO change that’s also just weeks away.

Indeed, Alphabet’s Google is to thank for helping Apple get up to full speed in the AI race with its latest Apple Foundation Models. And while Apple has seemingly found a smart shortcut to close the gap in the AI race, I do think that investing in the firm behind the profound AI lab also makes a lot of sense, especially since frontier enterprise-grade AI and consumer AI are completely different ballgames.

Act now: the analyst who called NVIDIA in 2010 just named his top 10 AI stocks — and Apple didn't make the cut. Grab the names FREE today.

Alphabet certainly seems mispriced as investors ponder its position in the AI race While Berkshire started buying quite a while ago, I still view Alphabet stock as far easier to justify at 26.9 times trailing P/E, especially after the latest 5% intraday decline surrounding delays for Gemini 3.5 Pro, which should have been launched last month.

On the surface, the delay feels like Google is losing its luster in this AI race when, in reality, the company is probably just taking its time to ensure sufficient polish on an advanced AI model that could change the game. Delays are never fun, but if Google has taught us anything in this multi-year AI race, it’s that it’s a wonderful company that’s worth the wait.

In any case, I think covering both bases in AI (consumer with Apple, frontier with Google) makes the most sense. It doesn’t have to cost a fortune to get these sought-after seats to the AI revolution.

No IPO-chasing needed.

At the end of the day, Google is an AI powerhouse that could surprise with its coming release, even if it’s dubbed as losing some spots in the AI leaderboard until it can finally release Gemini 3.5 Pro. In my view, a month or so of delay is nothing in the grander scheme of things. Personally, I think delays are good news, given that Google knows the risks of pushing something out the door that isn’t up to standards.

The bottom line While time will tell how Alphabet shares fare for Berkshire in the AI age, I do think it could be one of Warren Buffett’s last brilliant, needle-moving stock picks, one that I believe has a chance to match the big move in Apple over the past decade.

Act now: the analyst who called NVIDIA in 2010 just named his top 10 AI stocks — and Apple didn't make the cut. Grab the names FREE today.

Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.

Google parent Alphabet is set to report earnings after the closing bell on Wednesday, with traders anticipating a sizable move from the tech giant's stock.

SummaryCompaniesDraft bill would require platforms to pay for news link previews and AI training useOnly AI-assisted works with meaningful human creative input would qualify for copyright protectionNon-compliant platforms could face sanctions including removal of their Indonesian operating licenceGoogle warns disclosure rules are too broadJAKARTA, July 17 (Reuters) - Indonesia is preparing sweeping changes to its copyright law, ​including granting copyright privileges to people who use artificial intelligence to help them generate content, a draft bill reviewed by Reuters showed, setting up a ‌potential showdown between the government and major tech platforms.

If passed, Indonesia could become the first country in Southeast Asia to incorporate AI in its copyright law, as governments globally grapple with the impact of the technology on copyright rules, including the use of work created by humans to train AI models.

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It was not immediately clear when the bill, which was an initiative of parliament and given to the ​government for its input, would be passed into law.

Hermansyah Siregar, an Indonesian law ministry official overseeing intellectual property, confirmed the authenticity of the draft bill ​and told Reuters it would mark the first explicit recognition of AI in Indonesia's copyright law.

"The development of generative AI has disrupted ⁠the copyright framework," Siregar said. "If unregulated, it could kill human creation."

FAIR-USE PROVISIONSThe previously unreported AI-specific clauses of the bill include banning the use of AI to imitate a ​creator's "distinctive style" and mandating disclosure on AI use in content.

The bill also requires tech platforms to pay compensation for aggregating, republishing or link-previewing news content, as well as using it for ​AI training. The compensation would go to state-supervised collective management organisations, which would distribute the funds to news publishers.

The rules would apply to a variety of content including video games, photography, computer programs, journalism and films.

AI-assisted works would qualify for copyright protection only if they met human involvement criteria, while fully AI-generated works would be excluded. The draft did not say how much human involvement was needed to qualify for ​protection.

The use of copyrighted works to train AI models would also be subject to fair-use provisions or licensing agreements, the draft said.

Ari Juliano Gema, an IP and ​entertainment lawyer, said Indonesia's bill might trigger concern among tech companies as it appeared to conflate commercial use of AI with its use for research.

Tech giants such as Google (GOOGL.O), opens new tab, which issued a statement ‌last month ⁠criticising the copyright overhaul, could face sanctions if they do not comply with the bill's provisions, including having their local business permits revoked.

"Rigid, overbroad mandates, however, would harm local creators, slow innovation, and leave Indonesia as an international outlier, ultimately discouraging the investment needed to drive its digital future," Google said in its statement, adding it would engage with the government on the bill.

Meta (META.O), opens new tab and TikTok did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the proposals. Meta's Instagram and Facebook platforms are popular among Indonesians.

Siregar said AI regulation was ​a global issue, citing an ongoing court case led ​by the New York Times, one of ⁠many brought by copyright owners against tech companies for alleged misuse of their material to train AI systems.

The draft was not final and the government was seeking further input, Siregar added.

INDONESIA'S AI PUSHIndonesia's proposals come as Southeast Asia's largest economy pushes for the wider adoption ​of AI and as the government moves to embed AI in key programmes.

On Thursday, Indonesia was among 29 countries that signed an ​agreement in Shanghai to establish an ⁠intergovernmental body China says will promote cooperation and global governance of AI.

China's President Xi Jinping on Friday outlined a vision for a new global AI order in which China would share its open-source AI technology and expertise with countries across the developing world.

Xi also called for AI systems to remain under human control and urged countries to establish early-warning and emergency-response mechanisms to ⁠manage AI ​risks, stressing the importance of human oversight and control.

Indonesia's AI disclosure requirements mirror transparency rules emerging elsewhere.

The European ​Union AI Act requires companies to clearly label where AI has been used to generate or modify images, video or audio content "constituting a deepfake", though it carves out exemptions for certain artistic or satirical works.

AI is ​not explicitly mentioned in U.S. or Singapore copyright statutes, but their copyright offices have said copyright protection requires human contribution.

Reporting by Stanley Widianto; Editing by Gibran Peshimam and Kate Mayberry

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab

Since 2017, Iason Gabriel has worked at the tech giant, trying to anticipate – and think through – the impact of AI. But as commercial and geopolitical pressures escalate, can ethicists make any difference?

Are we heading toward an artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure spending cliff? Some investors and analysts have been saying so for a while now, predicting that the leaders in the AI industry, such as Nvidia (NVDA 2.43%), could see their financial results worsen significantly once it happens. However, there are plenty of signs suggesting that AI spending isn't slowing down at all and may actually accelerate over the medium term. We could point to projections by other analysts and institutions. Some see AI infrastructure spending exceeding $1 trillion by 2029, up from $318 billion in 2025.

Perhaps more tellingly, plenty of companies are actively saying they will spend more on AI and putting their money where their mouths are. Let's consider three examples: Space Exploration Technologies (SPCX 3.08%), Alphabet (GOOG 4.43%) (GOOGL 4.48%), and SK Hynix (SKHY 13.73%). These corporations are flashing a bullish signal for Nvidia. Here's what investors need to know.

Image source: The Motley Fool.

The expensive AI infrastructure build-out Let's start with SpaceX, the space company with massive AI-related ambitions. SpaceX argues that AI represents, by far, its largest addressable market, which it estimates is $26.5 trillion. Before it can capitalize on this opportunity, though, SpaceX has to invest massive sums of money. In 2025, the company invested $12.7 billion in capex within its AI segment, significantly more than what it spent across its two other business units combined. And through March 31, SpaceX's AI unit's capital expenditures totaled $7.7 billion -- representing a $30.8 billion run rate -- suggesting the spending is accelerating.

And according to SpaceX's CEO, Elon Musk, the company will continue ordering racks of Nvidia's products. Next, let's consider Alphabet, which recently announced an $80 billion equity capital raise to fund its AI projects. The company said it would spend between $180 billion and $190 billion in capex this year. Management also warned investors: Capex spending will grow significantly in 2027. Alphabet was also clear that Nvidia's GPUs (Graphics Processing Units) are central to its AI business, even as it ramps up production of its internally developed custom AI chips.

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Then there is SK Hynix, a South Korean company that recently made its U.S. stock market debut. SK Hynix is a leading semiconductor company that manufactures HBM (High Bandwidth Memory) chips, which are a key component packaged with Nvidia's GPUs and provide the high-speed memory needed to run massive AI workloads efficiently. SK Hynix recently committed 1,100 trillion South Korean won (about $743 billion) to expand its manufacturing capacity over the medium to long-term. This is another bullish sign for Nvidia, as it signals that one of its suppliers is doubling down on expanding its manufacturing capacity, expecting the momentum we are seeing in the industry to continue.

What this means for Nvidia Nvidia's quarterly revenue has now increased sequentially for 14 straight quarters. That, in itself, is clear evidence of accelerating demand for the company's products in an otherwise cyclical semiconductor industry, and the company should maintain that momentum. It is now clear that AI will change every sector and industry. As companies seek to implement various AI-powered initiatives -- including AI agents that will automate many tasks -- demand for Nvidia's hardware should remain strong.

True, there is growing competition, but Nvidia has a massive lead in its core GPU market. It has also expanded beyond this niche and now offers products across the full stack of the AI infrastructure ecosystem, including CPUs (Central Processing Units) and GPUs, networking hardware, software, and much more. It may not be the top player across every single one of these niches, but its leadership in GPUs gives it a competitive edge in expanding across the AI infrastructure stack, allowing it to leverage its dominant ecosystem. The bottom line: The company's tailwind likely isn't over yet. Those who bet against Nvidia may keep losing.

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Nearly 100 Google employees held a protest about job security on Thursday. Pranav Dixit/Business Insider Dozens of Google employees from around the country gathered in the shadow of the company's Mountain View headquarters on Thursday, holding signs reading "Googlers for Job Security" and demanding stronger protections against layoffs.

At noon, nearly 100 workers filled a grassy stretch of the campus, flanked by the Googleplex on one side and the sweeping canopy of Google's visitor center on the other. Many wore matching black shirts. Others held Alphabet Workers Union placards or helped unfurl a long white banner covered with the names of more than 4,500 employees who signed a petition about job security addressed to CEO Sundar Pichai and three senior executives.

"We want voluntary exits before layoffs, we want guaranteed severance standards, we want an end to performance quotas," Parul Koul, a Google software engineer and president of the Alphabet Workers Union, which has around 1,400 members, told the crowd. Alphabet, Google's parent company, employs nearly 191,000 people.

The protest captured a shift that has unsettled workers across the tech industry. Since 2022, companies including Google, Meta, Amazon, and Microsoft have cut tens of thousands of jobs, often through repeated rounds that left employees waiting for the next notice. Google laid off 12,000 employees in 2023 and has since conducted several smaller rounds, collectively affecting thousands of employees.

Google employees protested over job security at the company headquarters on Thursday.  Pranav Dixit/Business Insider The company's workforce, known for pushing management on ethics and corporate policy, is now organizing around something more fundamental: whether employees can count on basic security in an era of rolling layoffs, tougher performance systems, and anxiety over how AI will reshape their jobs.

The petition, which the union first wrote in early 2025, asks Google to guarantee severance for every laid-off worker, offer voluntary exit packages before mandatory cuts, end forced-distribution performance ratings, and let employees receive severance as extended paid leave. The union also wants Google to make voluntary exits a formal policy instead of offering them selectively.

Koul told Business Insider that employees tried to deliver it to Pichai last year and, after receiving no substantive response, continued collecting signatures and returned Thursday with more than twice as many names.

Business Insider attended the event and spoke with Googlers about what they want from the company and why they're protesting.

Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.

Googlers delivered a petition to top execsAbout 20 workers began delivering the petition around 9 a.m. on Thursday, Kaylee Lubick, a Google software engineer and union member, told Business Insider.

The group first visited the offices of Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian and senior vice presidents Rick Osterloh and Nick Fox, then went to Pichai's office. Lubick said the executives were not there to meet with them, and the employees slipped the petition under their doors.

The union says Google offered voluntary exit packages to more than 70,000 workers across several rounds since the campaign began. Koul told Business Insider that the figure reflects the number of employees eligible for the offers, not the number who accepted them.

At the protest, speakers described a workplace reshaped by several rounds of layoffs.

"I see worried people, grateful to still have a job, do the best they can to keep it," said Nobel Barakat, a Google software engineer. "I've seen people work longer and longer days with the hopes that they avoid a sudden poor performance rating."

Matthew Hoffman, a Google DeepMind engineer, said he joined the protest to show his support, even though he had not been personally affected by layoffs and had not yet joined the union.

Matthew Hoffman, a Google DeepMind engineer, said he joined the protest to show his support, even though he had not been personally affected by layoffs and had not yet joined the union.  Pranav Dixit/Business Insider "I think I realized that just because something hasn't affected you personally doesn't mean it won't someday," he said.

As television cameras rolled, workers raised their signs and chanted: "Google, Google, can't you see? We deserve security."

Google has a history of employee activismThursday's protest drew on Google's long history of employee activism.

In 2018, more than 4,000 workers opposed Project Maven, a Pentagon contract that used Google's AI to analyze drone footage. Later that year, roughly 20,000 employees walked out over Google's handling of sexual-misconduct allegations against senior executives. In 2024, Google fired workers after sit-ins protesting Project Nimbus, its cloud-computing contract with the Israeli government.

On Wednesday, Business Insider reported that a Google DeepMind researcher resigned after the company signed an agreement allowing the Pentagon to use its AI for classified operations. Around 600 employees had urged Google not to enter such a deal.

"We have the power to change things for ourselves," Koul said. "The only thing preventing us is how organized we are."

Have a tip? Contact Pranav Dixit via email at [email protected] or Signal at 1-408-905-9124. Use a personal email address and a nonwork device; here's our guide to sharing information securely.

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Pranav Dixit is the Meta Correspondent at Business Insider based in the San Francisco Bay Area. He writes about Meta’s products, policies, and internal workings while examining how the company’s decisions shape how billions of people connect and communicate.Previously, Pranav was the India-based technology correspondent for BuzzFeed News, covering the impact of Silicon Valley’s largest companies on the culture, society, and politics of more than a billion people in South Asia. He has also been a senior news editor at Engadget and ran technology coverage at the Hindustan Times, one of India’s largest national newspapers.Pranav’s reporting has shed light on the human consequences of Big Tech’s quest for growth in emerging markets, and sparked widespread conversations about the impact of American technology companies on the Global South. In 2019, he won Syracuse University’s Mirror Award for a boots-on-the-ground feature about how WhatsApp misinformation sparked gruesome lynchings in rural India. He has also reported from Kashmir, a volatile geopolitical hotspot, documenting the world’s longest-running internet shutdown.His work has been widely cited by major national and international publications, and he has been featured on the BBC, Al Jazeera, and podcasts such as Vox Media’s Land of the Giants to discuss his work. He has also spoken in journalism classes including at UC Berkeley’s graduate journalism program. His writing has appeared in The Guardian, Vox, Time, The Information, and Al Jazeera.Pranav moved to the United States in 2021 from New Delhi, India, to be a fellow at Harvard University’s Nieman Foundation for Journalism, where he studied the evolution of the American tech press and ways newsrooms around the world can cover technology and society more effectively.Got a tip about Meta or anything else in Silicon Valley? Contact Pranav via encrypted messaging app Signal (+1408-905-9124), or email him at [email protected] or [email protected]. You can also reach him on WhatsApp at +857-753-3949 or DM him on X (@PranavDixit) or BlueSky (@pranavdixit.bsky.social).Pranav keeps sources anonymous. Please use a non-work device to reach out.Expertise: Meta, Facebook, WhatsApp, Llama, AI, Threads, Instagram, Mark Zuckerberg, social media, platforms, immigration

Google Alphabet Layoffs More Employment Careers Protest Big Tech

CNBC's MacKenzie Sigalos reports on news regarding Alphabet.

By PYMNTS  |  July 16, 2026

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Google is months behind schedule on delivering its most powerful artificial intelligence (AI) model, Gemini 3.5 Pro, Bloomberg reported Thursday (July 16), citing unnamed sources.

The company was widely expected to release 3.5 Pro at its developer conference in May, but it is still working to improve the model’s capabilities, especially in coding, according to the report.

Google said in a May 19 blog post announcing the launch of Gemini 3.5 Flash: “We’re also hard at work on 3.5 Pro. It’s already being used internally, and we look forward to rolling it out next month.”

According to the Bloomberg report, the delay has been caused in part by Google’s many layers of stakeholders involved in preparing models for release, the company’s efforts to make the 3.5 Pro’s skills in writing code more competitive with its rivals, and competing factions within Google each building their own AI coding tools.

Asked about the report by Bloomberg, a Google spokesperson said, per the report: “We’re shipping quickly across a wide range of models while keeping them highly cost-effective for customers.”

Google is also working with the U.S. government and its efforts to monitor the most advanced models, according to the report.

“We’re currently testing 3.5 Pro, an upgraded Flash model, and other models with partners, and we’re productively engaged with the U.S. government on model testing and broader frameworks,” the Google spokesperson said, per the report.

PYMNTS reported in May that Gemini 3.5 Flash had become the default model across the Gemini app and Search’s AI Mode; that the Gemini app was serving more than 900 million monthly users across 230 countries; and that daily queries had grown sevenfold.

In remarks delivered at a Google event in May, Google CEO Sundar Pichai said: “Today we have 13 products with over a billion users each. Five of those have more than 3 billion users. Our Gemini models are a big reason more people are using our products, and why they’re using our products more.”

Speaking of the company’s latest AI models, Pichai said: “Gemini 3.5 Flash is available for everyone today across our products and APIs. We’re also excited for Gemini 3.5 Pro. We are using it internally, it’s showing great improvements, and it will be coming next month.”

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Alphabet shares sank 4% on Thursday following a report that the company has delayed releasing its flagship artificial intelligence model.

The search giant's Gemini 3.5 Pro AI model is months behind schedule due to the company's efforts to improve its performance, according to Bloomberg, citing sources familiar with the matter. The model's coding capabilities, in particular, were short of internal expectations and come at a time when rivals like OpenAI and Meta have recently debuted new AI models that outpace Google's current offerings in generating software code, the report said.

The company previously announced the Gemini 3.5 Pro AI model in May as part of the company's annual Google I/O developer conference, saying at the time that it was being used internally, but wouldn't be ready for a broader rollout until the following month.

An Alphabet spokesperson told CNBC in an emailed statement that the company is "shipping quickly across a wide range of models while keeping them highly cost-effective for customers."

"We're currently testing 3.5 Pro, an upgraded Flash model, and other models with partners, and we're productively engaged with the U.S. government," the spokesperson said.

Read more CNBC tech newsNvidia-backed Fireworks hits $17.5 billion valuation as companies pursue cheaper AI modelsTSMC to invest additional $100 billion in Arizona after second-quarter profit soars 77%Trump blasts New York AI data center moratorium, says state should change policy 'immediately'Anthropic moves closer to mega-IPO as bankers line up investor meetingsCode-generation has become one of the biggest use cases for AI model providers like Anthropic and OpenAI and Chinese AI labs like Z.ai that offer so-called open-weight variants that developers can access for free via the open-source ecosystem.

Meta debuted last week its Muse Spark 1.1 AI model, which the company's AI chief Alexandr Wang described as the social media giant's "strongest model for agentic and coding work yet."

OpenAI last week released its GPT-5.6 Sol AI model, which CEO Sam Altman said is 54% more token efficient on agentic coding tasks, underscoring how AI labs are pitching their respective AI coding models as being cost-effective relative to their performance.

Alphabet stock chart

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16.7.2026 22:00

Negativní sentiment se před koncem obchodní seance ještě více prohloubil. Může za to silný pokles technologického giganta Google, u kterého přišla zpráva, že je v několikaměsíčním zpoždění s vydáním nové vlajkové AI verze Geminy Pro 3.5. V prostředí velké konkurence to může mít neblahý efekt ztráty poptávky. Akcie Alphabet končí silnou ztrátou –4,43 %.

Nevalný výsledek zažil i čipový sektor, kde velkou váhu poklesu má na svědomí Micron -5,65 % či AMD -5,33 %.

Oproti tomu se dařilo defenzivním sektorům spotřebního zboží či služeb. McDonald přidal slušných +3,04 %, PepsiCo též +2,97 % a například kartová asociace Mastercard +3,04 %.

Ropa WTI stále mírně ztrácela -0,75 %. Negativní vývoj na burze tedy dnes nebyl ovlivněn negativní geopolitickou situací.

Index Dow Jones -0,2 % na 52553,62 b.
S&P 500 -0,51 % na 7533,89 b.
Nasdaq Composite -1,47 % na 25881,95 b.

Index S&P 500 -0,51 % na 7533,89 b. Nejsilnější sektory S&P Změna Nejslabší sektory S&P Změna Nezbytná spotřeba +2,9 % Komunikační služby -2,8 % Zdravotní péče +2,2 % Informační technologie -1,8 % Reality +2,1 % Zbytná spotřeba -0,3 % Nejsilnější akcie S&P Změna Nejslabší akcie S&P Změna Abbott Laboratories (ABT) +11 % Sandisk Corp (SNDK) -13 % JB Hunt Transport Services (JBHT) +8,0 % Seagate Technology Holdings (STX) -10,0 % Fedex Freight Holding (FDXF) +7,5 % Corning (GLW) -9,2 % Erie Indemnity (ERIE) +7,5 % Western Digital Corp (WDC) -9,2 % Dexcom (DXCM) +7,2 % Marvell Technology (MRVL) -8,7 %
Jan Pazourek, Fio banka, a.s.

The Nasdaq is down 0.92% while the S&P 500 has shed 0.12%.

• Alphabet stock is trading at elevated levels. What should traders watch with GOOG?

BofA Securities analyst Justin Post expects Alphabet to deliver a strong second quarter, driven by cloud momentum, steady search growth and AI-related upside.

Cloud Growth Drives ForecastPost maintained a Buy rating on Alphabet with a $430 price forecast. He expects second-quarter revenue of $102.1 billion and GAAP EPS of $8.38, above Street estimates of $101 billion and $2.90.

The analyst projects third-quarter revenue of $108.8 billion and GAAP EPS of $3.03, above Street estimates of $107.9 billion and $3.02.

Post raised his Cloud growth estimate to 70%, citing strong demand indicators and backlog that suggests at least $230 billion in revenue over the next eight quarters. He also expects full-year 2026 search growth of 16% and Cloud growth of 72%.

AI Assets Support UpsidePost raised his 2026 net revenue estimate by 1% to $427 billion and lifted his EPS estimate by 36% to $19.70. For 2027, he raised net revenue by 3% to $537 billion and EPS by 1% to $14.70.

Post said Alphabet remains well positioned for outsized growth and Cloud margin upside because of its AI assets across models, silicon, consumer distribution and enterprise distribution. He also flagged second-quarter search growth, cloud margins, backlog and capital spending commentary as key items for the earnings call.

Technical AnalysisGOOG is trading 15.7% above its 200-day SMA and 8.4% above its 100-day SMA, which keeps the bigger-picture trend pointed up after a 101.85% run over the past 12 months. The stock is also 4.3% above its 20-day SMA, but only 0.5% above its 50-day SMA — so the near-term tape is tighter and more sensitive to pullbacks.

Top ETF ExposureSignificance: Because GOOG carries such a heavy weight in these funds, any significant inflows or outflows for these ETFs will likely trigger automatic buying or selling of the stock.

GOOG Price ActionGOOG Stock Price Activity: Alphabet shares were up 0.23% at $371.03 at the time of publication on Thursday, according to Benzinga Pro data.

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Image Credits:Google 11:32 AM PDT · July 16, 2026

OpenAI’s Sora may have shut down, but Google apparently thinks there’s still interest in a tool that lets you star in your own AI videos. On Thursday, the tech giant announced an update to Google Vids that will allow you to create a custom digital avatar that looks and sounds like you based on a selfie and a voice recording you upload.

In addition, Google said it’s bringing its multi-modal AI model Gemini Omni to Vids, letting you create videos using a combination of a written prompt and reference images you upload. Omni then mixes those inputs together to create the AI video you want. It can also be used to do things like swap out the background or fix the lighting in a video recorded on your phone, or add effects.

Plus, Omni now supports step-by-step edits, meaning you can make changes to your video as you go instead of starting over from scratch.

The updates push Google Vids beyond its original role as an AI-assisted workplace presentation tool to become more of an all-in-one video creation platform. By making Vids a part of Google Workspace, the company is telegraphing its use as a business tool for things like company updates or training videos, but personalized avatars and conversational edits could put it in closer competition with other AI video startups and tools like HeyGen, Synthesia, Captions, D-ID, and others.

Google notes that the new AI avatars will be tied to the account holder’s likeness, tied to their Google account, and watermarked invisibly with SynthID. (I suppose that means no one will be using the tool to make bizarre AI videos of Google CEO Sundar Pichai, the way that OpenAI CEO Sam Altman had let users do with Sora when it was available!)

The company also says that access to personal avatars is limited to users in certain regions who are aged 18 or older.

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The recommendations of Wall Street analysts are often relied on by investors when deciding whether to buy, sell, or hold a stock. Media reports about these brokerage-firm-employed (or sell-side) analysts changing their ratings often affect a stock's price. Do they really matter, though?

Before we discuss the reliability of brokerage recommendations and how to use them to your advantage, let's see what these Wall Street heavyweights think about Alphabet Inc. (GOOG - Free Report) .

Alphabet currently has an average brokerage recommendation (ABR) of 1.26, on a scale of 1 to 5 (Strong Buy to Strong Sell), calculated based on the actual recommendations (Buy, Hold, Sell, etc.) made by 54 brokerage firms. An ABR of 1.26 approximates between Strong Buy and Buy.

Of the 54 recommendations that derive the current ABR, 45 are Strong Buy and four are Buy. Strong Buy and Buy respectively account for 83.3% and 7.4% of all recommendations.

Brokerage Recommendation Trends for GOOG

Check price target & stock forecast for Alphabet here>>>

The ABR suggests buying Alphabet, but making an investment decision solely on the basis of this information might not be a good idea. According to several studies, brokerage recommendations have little to no success guiding investors to choose stocks with the most potential for price appreciation.

Are you wondering why? The vested interest of brokerage firms in a stock they cover often results in a strong positive bias of their analysts in rating it. Our research shows that for every "Strong Sell" recommendation, brokerage firms assign five "Strong Buy" recommendations.

This means that the interests of these institutions are not always aligned with those of retail investors, giving little insight into the direction of a stock's future price movement. It would therefore be best to use this information to validate your own analysis or a tool that has proven to be highly effective at predicting stock price movements.

With an impressive externally audited track record, our proprietary stock rating tool, the Zacks Rank, which classifies stocks into five groups, ranging from Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) to Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell), is a reliable indicator of a stock's near-term price performance. So, validating the Zacks Rank with ABR could go a long way in making a profitable investment decision.

Zacks Rank Should Not Be Confused With ABRAlthough both Zacks Rank and ABR are displayed in a range of 1--5, they are different measures altogether.

The ABR is calculated solely based on brokerage recommendations and is typically displayed with decimals (example: 1.28). In contrast, the Zacks Rank is a quantitative model allowing investors to harness the power of earnings estimate revisions. It is displayed in whole numbers -- 1 to 5.

Analysts employed by brokerage firms have been and continue to be overly optimistic with their recommendations. Since the ratings issued by these analysts are more favorable than their research would support because of the vested interest of their employers, they mislead investors far more often than they guide.

In contrast, the Zacks Rank is driven by earnings estimate revisions. And near-term stock price movements are strongly correlated with trends in earnings estimate revisions, according to empirical research.

In addition, the different Zacks Rank grades are applied proportionately to all stocks for which brokerage analysts provide current-year earnings estimates. In other words, this tool always maintains a balance among its five ranks.

There is also a key difference between the ABR and Zacks Rank when it comes to freshness. When you look at the ABR, it may not be up-to-date. Nonetheless, since brokerage analysts constantly revise their earnings estimates to reflect changing business trends, and their actions get reflected in the Zacks Rank quickly enough, it is always timely in predicting future stock prices.

Is GOOG Worth Investing In?In terms of earnings estimate revisions for Alphabet, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year has increased 0.2% over the past month to $14.32.

Analysts' growing optimism over the company's earnings prospects, as indicated by strong agreement among them in revising EPS estimates higher, could be a legitimate reason for the stock to soar in the near term.

The size of the recent change in the consensus estimate, along with three other factors related to earnings estimates, has resulted in a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) for Alphabet. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocks here >>>>

Therefore, the Buy-equivalent ABR for Alphabet may serve as a useful guide for investors.

This year has marked a new chapter for Berkshire Hathaway as Greg Abel has assumed the role of CEO, succeeding Warren Buffett's more than five-decade tenure. Throughout 2026, Abel has executed a number of decisive changes in Berkshire's portfolio.

For instance, during the first quarter, Berkshire fully exited its stakes in Amazon and Domino's Pizza. Meanwhile, the company kept Apple (AAPL +1.13%) as its largest holding by a wide margin and significantly increased its position in Alphabet (GOOGL +0.12%) (GOOG 0.12%).  As of this writing (July 14), Berkshire's equity portfolio stands at $351 billion, with Apple and Alphabet together representing roughly 30% of invested capital.

While Berkshire has long avoided investments in high-growth, volatile technology stocks, the concentrated positions in Apple and Alphabet underscore an extension of Buffett's investing philosophy packaged across two leading artificial intelligence (AI) names.

Image source: The Motley Fool.

Abel has been buying Alphabet stock like there's no tomorrow Since taking the reins as CEO, Abel has moved quickly to double down on Berkshire's exposure to Alphabet. During the first quarter, Berkshire nearly tripled its existing position in Alphabet -- lifting the internet giant into the ranks of the portfolio's largest holdings. Subsequently, Berkshire further committed $10 billion through a private placement as part of Alphabet's broader $80 billion equity raise -- allocating $5 billion each to Class A and Class C shares.

These actions reflect a strong conviction in Alphabet's long-term growth prospects. Google continues to dominate search with a near-monopoly position. This moat helps the company generate predictable, high-margin advertising revenue and consistent cash flow. Moreover, Alphabet has further diversified its revenue streams across YouTube, Google Cloud Platform, and consumer electronics, providing multiple avenues for growth during any economic cycle.

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While it's not the top reason to open a position in Alphabet stock, the company also employs a modest dividend program -- adding another dimension of shareholder value while preserving the financial flexibility to reinvest in high-return opportunities, especially in the AI ecosystem.

Abel's willingness to build Berkshire's position in Alphabet so quickly may be a signal that he views the company as a wide-moat business capable of compounding earnings power over the long run. This template is consistent with Berkshire's preference for owning exceptional companies with strong competitive advantages and reliable cash-flow generation.

Image source: Getty Images.

Apple remains the king of Berkshire's portfolio Although Berkshire has been steadily trimming its position in Apple over the last couple of years, Abel has retained the iPhone maker as the portfolio's largest holding. This is interesting because Apple holds a relatively measured position in the generative AI landscape.

I think Abel's decision to continue holding Apple rests on several of the company's enduring strengths. For starters, Apple is one of the most powerful consumer brands and ecosystem moats in the world. The company's tight integration across hardware, software, and services creates meaningful switching costs and supports recurring revenue streams. As a result, Apple produces enormous profits and free cash flow, much of which is returned to investors through aggressive share repurchases.

I think one of the most underappreciated aspects of Apple is its position as a platform toll collector for AI. Developers building applications or features for iOS must navigate Apple's App Store and payment systems. This creates a durable revenue vehicle independent of which AI models are adopted.

Looking even further ahead, Apple has a meaningful optionality to expand its reach into AI-enhanced devices and services. This emerging opportunity aligns with Berkshire's affinity for businesses that are adaptable and have multiyear growth runways.

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Apple and Alphabet are attractive stocks in an otherwise frothy market What ties the positions in Apple and Alphabet under Abel's direction is a reasonable valuation profile relative to their growth potential. Apple trades at a forward price-to-earnings ratio (P/E) around 36, while Alphabet trades at a forward earnings multiple near 25. While neither is cheap per se, these premiums are justified in a broader market environment where many technology and AI-related names carry stretched valuations driven by speculative enthusiasm.

AAPL PE Ratio (Forward) data by YCharts

Both Apple and Alphabet possess durable competitive moats, exceptional cash generation, and quality management teams oriented toward long-term value creation. Abel appears to regard each company as a rare combination of business quality and valuation. In a period when froth has elevated broader indexes, the concentrated commitments to Apple and Alphabet reflect prudent capital allocation rather than momentum-driven decisions.

Google announced on Thursday that it now allows users to link and interact with some of their go-to apps right in AI Mode, the tech giant’s conversational search experience. At launch, supported apps include Instacart, Canva, and YouTube.

With this new update, Google is expanding AI Mode beyond answering questions and into completing tasks across the apps they use regularly. The tech giant is also likely hoping that users will rely on AI Mode more often for things like planning and shopping. Plus, the rollout will allow Google to better compete with rivals like OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Anthropic’s Claude, both of which support app integrations.

In one example, Google says that if you’re planning a barbecue and using AI Mode to create a grocery list, you can connect your Instacart account to add the ingredients directly to your shopping cart and quickly check out on the Instacart app or website.

Image Credits:Google Or, if you’re working on a project and need design ideas, like for a flyer, you can ask Canva to show you a selection of templates. In another example, Google says you could use AI Mode to curate a playlist for your next party and instantly save it to YouTube Music.

The update is rolling out to users in the U.S. Google says it’s working with a range of partners and plans to launch support for more apps soon.

Today’s announcement builds on a capability Google launched earlier this year at Google I/O that lets users connect third-party apps to the Gemini app to complete tasks faster. Supported apps include Canva, OpenTable, Spark, Instacart, and more.

Since its launch in early 2025, Google has been continuously building out AI Mode with more capabilities. Most recently, the tech giant announced that AI Mode can now help check whether an item you need is in stock at a nearby store. Google also recently added the ability for users to explore the web side-by-side with AI Mode to do things like compare details and ask follow-up questions while preserving the context of their search.

Earlier this year, Google launched “Personal Intelligence” on AI Mode, enabling it to tap into users’ Gmail and Google Photos to provide more individualized responses.

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FILE PHOTO: A specially designed Google logo, during the opening of Google's new Artificial Intelligence (AI) centre in Berlin, Germany, March 5, 2026. REUTERS/Annegret Hilse/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab

CompaniesBRUSSELS, July 16 (Reuters) - Alphabet's (GOOGL.O), opens new tab Google will have to help OpenAI and other AI rivals as well as online search engine competitors access its services to comply ​with EU rules curbing the power of Big Tech, EU regulators said ‌as they set out the details of the requirements.

The move by the European Commission, which acts as the EU competition enforcer, came six months after the regulator opened so-called specification proceedings to assist the world's ​most popular internet search engine to comply with the Digital Markets Act.

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Google reiterated its ​criticism of the EU-mandated changes.

"Today's decisions risk undermining vital privacy and ⁠security guardrails for millions of Europeans," Google's lawyer Kent Walker said in an email.

"We ​have repeatedly offered solutions to safeguard users while satisfying the DMA's goals, but these rulings ​discount extensive evidence of user harm," he said.

The Commission said Google will open up 11 features on its Android operating system to AI rivals to access key functionalities and better compete with Google's Gemini ​AI service.

This would mean that users can activate a rival AI assistant via voice ​commands, similar to the 'hey Google' command, to book a taxi or search for information on places. Users ‌will ⁠benefit from the changes from July 2027 in the next iteration of Android.

The Commission said the measures contain robust safeguards to protect users' privacy and device security, and that Google will only offer the 11 features to rivals who fulfil security and privacy criteria.

The ​EU decision also requires ​Google to share the ⁠data that it collects to optimise its own search services with OpenAI and other AI chatbots with search functionalities, subject to anonymisation.

Google ​can first assess whether rivals pose cybersecurity and data protection risks ​before it ⁠opens up to them. The EU measure, which will be implemented from January next year, includes a formula to calculate the price of the shared data.

"Thanks to these measures we ⁠hope to ​see emerging alternatives to Google Search and Google's ​AI services, such as Gemini, and that users in the EU can enjoy greater choice of services," EU tech ​chief Henna Virkkunen said in a statement.

Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; Editing by Kirsten Donovan

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab

An agenda-setting and market-moving journalist, Foo Yun Chee is a 21-year veteran at Reuters. Her stories on high profile mergers have pushed up the European telecoms index, lifted companies' shares and helped investors decide on their next move. Her knowledge and experience of European antitrust laws and developments helped her break stories on Microsoft, Google, Amazon, Meta and Apple, numerous market-moving mergers and antitrust investigations. She has previously reported on Greek politics and companies, when Greece's entry into the eurozone meant it punched above its weight on the international stage, as well as on Dutch corporate giants and the quirks of Dutch society and culture that never fail to charm readers.

The European Union gave Google binding instructions to open up its Android operating system and search engine data to greater competition.

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Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL | GOOGL Price Prediction) trades at $370.70 heading into a stretch where AI monetization, Cloud acceleration, and a historic capital spending cycle all converge. A $7,500 starting stake in GOOGL, held through the model’s one-year horizon into 2027, sits at the intersection of a mega-cap that just posted its fourth consecutive EPS beat and one still generating 21.8% quarterly revenue growth. That is a rare setup for a company this size, which is why the forward math matters.

The One-Year Projection The model’s base case pegs GOOGL at $442.71 by the middle of 2027, a 19.43% total return from the current level, with a confidence level of 90% and a BUY recommendation. Applied to the starting stake, the base case compounds a $7,500 position into $8,957.25. That figure is anchored to the one-year horizon the engine actually models; any longer-dated glide path is an illustrative extension, not a fresh target.

Bull, Base, and Bear Scenarios Here is how the $7,500 stake fares across the three modeled outcomes, using the engine’s total-return figures for the one-year horizon.

Scenario Target Price Total Return $7,500 Grows To Bull (Optimistic) $461.25 +24.43% $9,332.25 Base $442.71 +19.43% $8,957.25 Bear (Conservative) $358.49 -3.29% $7,253.25 Analyst consensus sits slightly below the model, with a $431.72 consensus target price drawn from 14 Strong Buy, 43 Buy, and 7 Hold ratings, with zero sell calls on the sheet. Bullish sentiment among covering analysts stands at 89%.

Why the Model Gets to $442 Three drivers explain the base case. First, Google Cloud is compounding faster than the rest of the business. Cloud revenue reached $20.03 billion in Q1 2026, up 63% year over year, and the segment backlog nearly doubled quarter over quarter to more than $460 billion. That backlog is contracted forward revenue, and it removes a lot of guesswork from Cloud’s contribution over the next four quarters.

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Second, AI is showing up in the core Search and consumer businesses, not just in Cloud. Gemini processes more than 16 billion tokens per minute via direct API use, and Alphabet now counts 350 million paid subscriptions across YouTube and Google One. CEO Sundar Pichai framed the setup this way on the most recent call: “2026 is off to a terrific start. Our AI investments and full stack approach are lighting up every part of the business.”

Third, the valuation is not stretched. GOOGL trades at a 27 trailing P/E and a 25 forward P/E, with quarterly earnings growth of 82% year over year. That PEG ratio of roughly one keeps the multiple defensible. Investors looking for a wider set of AI beneficiaries beyond the megacaps can also skim 7 Stocks Powering the AI Boom (That Aren’t Chipmakers) for the picks-and-shovels layer.

What Could Sink the Projection The bear case is grounded in real pressure points. Alphabet guided 2026 CapEx to $175 to $185 billion, a level that already compressed Q1 free cash flow to $10.12 billion, down 46.63% year over year. If AI infrastructure spend keeps outrunning cash generation, the market’s willingness to pay a growth multiple can erode quickly. Regulatory drag is a second overhang, given the $3.5 billion European Commission fine booked in Q3 2025 and ongoing scrutiny of Search distribution. Third, insider activity has skewed toward net selling across 176 recent transactions, and while insider sales rarely signal a top on their own, they take some sheen off the bull narrative. The stock’s beta of 1.247 also means any broader AI unwind hits GOOGL harder than the broader market.

The Range Investors Are Working With Roll it up and the one-year picture on $7,500 is a modeled range from $7,253.25 in the bear case to $9,332.25 in the bull case, centered on a base value of $8,957.25 tied to the $442.71 target. The 90% confidence level reflects the density of the underlying data rather than the certainty of the outcome. This is a projection, not investment advice, and analyst targets are not guarantees. Cloud growth, AI monetization, and CapEx discipline are the three levers to keep an eye on between here and 2027.

Meet America's Newest $1b Unicorn (Sponsor) A US startup just passed a $1 billion private valuation, joining billion-dollar private companies like OpenAI and ByteDance. Unlike those other unicorns, you can invest in EnergyX right now; but only until July 16.

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Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.

Americká společnost Google ze skupiny Alphabet bude muset podle nových požadavků Evropské unie umožnit společnosti OpenAI i dalším konkurentům v oblasti umělé inteligence (AI) a internetových vyhledávačů přístup ke svým službám. Ve svém rozhodnutí o tom dnes informovala Evropská komise (EK). Opatření má zajistit dodržování pravidel, jejichž cílem je omezit v EU tržní sílu velkých technologických firem. Google s tím nesouhlasí.

Evropská komise dnes vůči společnosti Google přijala dvě sady závazných opatření, která upřesňují její povinnosti podle nařízení o digitálních trzích (DMA). Cílem první sady opatření je zajistit, aby konkurenční služby založené na umělé inteligenci mohly za stejných podmínek jako vlastní služby AI firmy Google, například Gemini, využívat funkce zařízení s operačním systémem Android. Druhá sada opatření má vyrovnat konkurenční podmínky tím, že umožní internetovým vyhledávačům třetích stran přístup k datům z vyhledávání, která je v takovém rozsahu schopen shromažďovat pouze Google Search.

Google v reakci zopakoval své výhrady vůči změnám, které Evropská unie nařizuje. "Dnešní rozhodnutí mohou oslabit zásadní ochranná opatření v oblasti soukromí a bezpečnosti pro miliony Evropanů," uvedl v e-mailovém prohlášení zaslaném agentuře Reuters právník Googlu Kent Walker. "Opakovaně jsme navrhovali řešení, která chrání uživatele a zároveň naplňují cíle DMA. Tato rozhodnutí však přehlížejí rozsáhlé důkazy o tom, že mohou uživatelům způsobit újmu," dodal.

Komise uvedla, že Google zpřístupní konkurentům v oblasti umělé inteligence 11 funkcí operačního systému Android, aby mohli využívat jeho klíčové funkce a lépe konkurovat službě Gemini od Googlu.

V praxi to znamená, že uživatelé budou moci hlasovým povelem aktivovat konkurenčního asistenta AI podobně, jako dnes používají příkaz "Hey Google", například k objednání taxi nebo vyhledávání informací o různých místech. Tyto změny budou uživatelům dostupné od července 2027 v příští verzi systému Android.

Opatření podle EK obsahují důkladná ochranná opatření na ochranu soukromí uživatelů i bezpečnosti jejich zařízení. Google navíc zpřístupní zmíněných 11 funkcí pouze těm konkurentům, kteří splní stanovené požadavky na bezpečnost a ochranu soukromí.

Rozhodnutí EU zároveň Googlu ukládá povinnost sdílet s OpenAI a dalšími chatboty s prvky AI vybavenými funkcí internetového vyhledávání data, která Google využívá ke zlepšování vlastního vyhledávače. Sdílená data však budou předána v anonymizované podobě.

"Díky těmto opatřením doufáme, že vzniknou nové alternativy ke službě Google Search i ke službám AI od Googlu, jako je Gemini, a že uživatelé v Evropské unii získají širší výběr dostupných služeb," uvedla místopředsedkyně EK pro technologickou suverenitu, bezpečnost a demokracii Henna Virkkunenová. "Vyzýváme všechny vývojáře, malé i velké, aby využili těchto nových příležitostí, které podle nás přinesou užitek i samotným uživatelům," dodala.

Few events are more exciting for investors than the quarterly filing of Form 13Fs with regulators. A 13F is a required filing for money managers overseeing at least $100 million in assets. Although 13F filings detailing second-quarter trading activity aren't due until Aug. 14, investors tracking Berkshire Hathaway (BRKA 0.52%)(BRKB 0.56%) don't have to wait that long to determine which stocks Warren Buffett's successor, Greg Abel, has been buying.

Thanks to several other regulatory filings, we know that Abel scooped up shares of four powerhouse stocks in the second quarter: Alphabet (GOOGL +3.15%)(GOOG +3.57%), Mitsubishi (MTSUY +0.57%), Marubeni (MARUY +2.78%), and Sumitomo (SSUMY +0.00%).

Warren Buffett's retirement means that Greg Abel now oversees Berkshire Hathaway's investment portfolio. Image source: The Motley Fool.

Buffett's protégé piled into a virtual monopoly It's no secret that Google parent Alphabet is a favorite of Berkshire Hathaway's new boss. During the March-ended quarter, Berkshire's 13F shows that 36,403,656 Class A shares (GOOGL) and 3,585,215 Class C shares (GOOG) were purchased.

But on June 1, Alphabet announced plans to raise $80 billion (which it later upped to $84.75 billion) through an equity offering to fund its artificial intelligence (AI) data center build-out. Berkshire agreed to buy $10 billion ($5 billion of each share class) via a private placement. Although Berkshire hasn't confirmed that this private placement was completed, it likely closed before the end of the quarter.

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Alphabet provides the sustainable moat that Berkshire's current and former bosses appreciate. Google holds a virtual monopoly on global internet search traffic, with a 91% share as of June 2026, according to GlobalStats. It's also the parent of streaming platform YouTube, the second-most-visited social site on the planet. Between Google and YouTube, Alphabet sports exceptional ad pricing power.

However, Alphabet's growth story is all about cloud infrastructure services platform, Google Cloud, and its integration of generative AI and large language model solutions. During the first quarter, Google Cloud's sales skyrocketed 63%, which is noteworthy given that cloud margins are considerably higher than ad margins.

Image source: Getty Images.

Abel's fascination with Japan's trading houses continues Prior to Warren Buffett's retirement as Berkshire Hathaway's CEO, he penned an annual letter to shareholders where he outlined eight stocks that he believed were "indefinite" holdings. Among them were all five members of the sogo shosha (i.e., Japan's trading houses): Mitsubishi, Marubeni, Sumitomo, Itochu, and Mitsui.

Abel played an instrumental role in facilitating Berkshire's initial investments in the sogo shosha, which began in the summer of 2019 and were first made public in August 2020. Since Buffett's retirement, Abel has continued to hike his company's stake in these broad-reaching companies, with purchases of Mitsubishi, Marubeni, and Sumitomo reported by Japanese regulators between April 30 and May 12.

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Arguably, the most attractive aspect of Japan's five trading houses is their valuations. Amid the backdrop of the second-priciest stock market in U.S. history, Mitsubishi, Marubeni, and Sumitomo are trading at 21, 15, and 13 times trailing 12-month earnings per share, respectively.

Furthermore, Japan's trading houses are known for robust capital-return programs, including dividends and share buybacks, as well as modest executive compensation packages. The shareholder-first, long-term ethos of the sogo shosha aligns with the philosophies of Warren Buffett and his successor.

Europe's top court ​on Thursday sided ‌with Italy's communication authority which ​fined Alphabet ​unit Google €750,000 ($854,250) four years ⁠ago over ​gambling advertising on ​its YouTube video platform.

Get ready, Android users: Google will begin letting people download third-party apps from the Google Play Store next week, Bloomberg reports. This news comes after the five-year antitrust lawsuit filed by Epic Games, the creator of the popular video game Fortnite, concluded on Tuesday. 

Owners of Android phones in the US will be able to download third-party apps starting on July 22. 

Epic Games sued Google in 2020, claiming that Google's Play Store operated as an unlawful monopoly by restricting easy access to third-party services, such as app stores and non-Google payment methods. 

In late 2023, the court ruled in Epic's favor, and US District Judge James Donato issued a sweeping order requiring Google to open the Play Store to rival app stores. 

In November 2025, the two companies reached a settlement to modify this order, proposing an alternate solution that was made public in March of this year. The compromise would take the form of a Registered App Stores program, requiring third-party stores to remain outside the Play ecosystem as sideloaded apps rather than inside Google Play.

Then, both companies jointly withdrew this modified settlement to avoid "prolonging" the legal process. Since the compromise was scrapped, Google reverted to complying with the court's original, stricter mandate. 

The company launched a dedicated page for its Play Catalog Access Program, announcing that third-party app stores will be downloadable directly from within Google Play starting July 22. App developers will have greater visibility for their products, and their games and applications will be listed on external Android app stores.

Google's service fees will continue to apply to these downloads, while the company lowered its app purchase commissions from 30% down to 10%. As part of the settlement, developers are now allowed to offer users alternative payment methods or to distribute purchase links to their own websites. 

Google spokesperson Dan Jackson told CNET in a statement that by moving past this dispute, the tech giant can focus on launching its new global business strategy aimed at providing more store choices, lower prices and better opportunities for users and developers. 

Jackson emphasized that while Google will strictly comply with the US court's original mandate, it's "committed to maintaining Android's industry-leading security and fostering a competitive ecosystem where every app store and developer has the freedom to compete."

Key Takeaways Alphabet's AI-led growth across Search and Cloud supports its premium valuation despite elevated spending.Alphabet plans $180B-$190B in 2026 capex, with AI infrastructure spending pressuring free cash flow.Alphabet's Cloud backlog topped $460B as 75% of customers used its AI products, signaling strong demand. Alphabet (GOOGL - Free Report) shares are overvalued, as suggested by a Value Score of D. The GOOGL stock is trading at a forward 12-month price/earnings (P/E) of 24.61X, a premium compared with the Zacks Internet Services industry’s 23.71X and broader Zacks Computer & Technology sector’s 24.27X.

Alphabet shares are trading at a premium compared with Microsoft (MSFT - Free Report) , shares of which are trading at a P/E multiple of 19.82. However, GOOGL shares are trading at a lower multiple compared with Apple’s (AAPL - Free Report) 33.51 and Amazon’s (AMZN - Free Report) 25.98.

GOOGL Stock’s Valuation
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Is Alphabet worth buying at current prices? Let’s dig deep to find out.

GOOGL Up a Modest 15% YTD: What’s Plaguing the Stock?Alphabet shares have risen a modest 14.8% year to date (YTD), slightly better than the broader sector’s return of 14.6% and the industry’s 10.5%. GOOGL’s huge capital expenditure — between $180 billion and $190 billion — roughly double 2025’s level, with spending expected to rise further in 2027, has spooked investors. Alphabet nearly doubled first-quarter 2026 capital expenditure to $35.7 billion, with most spending directed toward AI infrastructure, including servers, data centers and networking equipment. The investment materially reduced quarterly free cash flow and has raised concerns that elevated AI spending could persist for several years.

GOOGL Stock’s Price Performance
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Alphabet’s prospects are suffering from stiff competition from the likes of Microsoft-backed OpenAI, Amazon, Anthropic and Meta across foundation models, enterprise AI, cloud infrastructure and AI assistants. The company’s heavy investments in talent hiring, GPUs, TPUs and model development are expected to keep margins under. Alphabet has also highlighted higher research & development as well as marketing expenses driven by AI investments and Gemini adoption, in this regard.

Alphabet is facing stiff competition in the cloud computing space from Microsoft and Amazon. According to Synergy Research Group’s first-quarter 2026 data, Amazon maintained a strong lead in the market, though Microsoft and Alphabet’s Google continued to achieve substantially higher growth rates. Amazon, Microsoft and Alphabet’s market share were roughly 28%, 21% and 14%, respectively. In the search domain, Google continues to dominate with a roughly 91.27% share, followed by Microsoft’s Bing, with a 4.68% share, per the latest data from StatCounter. In the consumer technology market, Alphabet faces stiff competition from Apple.

GOOGL’s search monetization policy has been put under scrutiny by investors. Although AI Overviews and AI Mode are boosting user engagement and search queries reached all-time highs, investors remain cautious about whether conversational AI can ultimately generate advertising revenues comparable to traditional search. Alphabet is still testing new AI-native advertising formats, leaving long-term monetization questions unresolved.

AI Push Boosts GOOGL’s Search & Cloud BusinessAlphabet’s prospects are increasingly driven by AI, which is no longer a standalone initiative. AI is becoming the core growth engine across Search, Cloud, subscriptions, advertising, and emerging businesses. AI-powered features are being embedded across Search, YouTube, Chrome, Workspace and Google One subscriptions. First-party models now process more than 16 billion tokens per minute, paid subscriptions reached about 350 million, and Gemini adoption continues expanding across Search, Workspace, Chrome and consumer AI offerings.

Alphabet sees AI as creating an “expansionary moment” for Search rather than disrupting it. Management noted that AI-powered features are increasing engagement and driving search queries to all-time highs, similar to the growth acceleration created by the transition to mobile. Alphabet has also reduced AI response costs by more than 30% since upgrading to Gemini 3, improving future economics. AI also improves advertising effectiveness through a better understanding of user intent, allowing GOOGL to monetize longer and more complex searches while improving advertiser ROI.

Google Cloud is one of the clearest beneficiaries of AI adoption. Management emphasized that Enterprise AI Solutions have become the Cloud’s primary growth driver, with 75% of Cloud customers now using Google’s AI products. Cloud backlog nearly doubled sequentially to more than $460 billion in the first quarter of 2026, reflecting exceptional enterprise AI demand and providing significant revenue visibility. Alphabet’s ability to provide infrastructure, models, security and productivity tools through a single integrated platform positions Google Cloud to capture growing enterprise AI spending.

Strong enterprise adoption of AI bodes well for GOOGL’s prospects. In the first quarter of 2026, Gemini Enterprise’s paid monthly active users grew 40% sequentially, enterprise AI products grew nearly 800% year over year, customer acquisition doubled, and Google signed multiple $1 billion-plus AI deals. This suggests AI is evolving into a meaningful recurring enterprise software business for Alphabet.

2026 Earnings Estimate Revisions Positive for GOOGL StockThe Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2026 earnings is pegged at $14.32 per share, up by a couple of cents over the past 30 days, indicating 32.47% growth from the figure reported in 2025. The consensus mark for 2026 revenues is pegged at $423.63 billion, indicating 23.54% year-over-year growth.
 

The consensus mark for second-quarter 2026 earnings is pegged at $2.86 per share, unchanged over the past 30 days, suggesting 23.81% year-over-year growth. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for second-quarter 2026 revenues is pegged at $101.22 billion, implying 23.86% year-over-year growth.

Here’s Why GOOGL Stock is a Buy Right NowAlphabet’s long-term investment case remains compelling and justifies a premium valuation. The company continues to strengthen its leadership across Search, Cloud and digital advertising while rapidly transforming AI into a powerful growth engine spanning consumer and enterprise markets. Surging Cloud backlog, accelerating Gemini adoption, improving AI economics and positive earnings estimate revisions underscore the strength of its execution. As AI investments increasingly translate into higher revenue, deeper customer engagement and expanding monetization opportunities, Alphabet appears well-positioned to deliver sustained growth.

Alphabet currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

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Alex Turner said he doesn't have another job lined up yet. Joseph Miller A Google DeepMind researcher has resigned over the company's work with the Defense Department, adding to the internal backlash over the tech giant's military partnership.

Alex Turner, a research scientist who worked for more than two years on AI safety at Google DeepMind, stepped down from his position in June, he told Business Insider. Turner said he made the decision after Google signed an agreement to let the Pentagon use its AI for classified operations.

The Pentagon confirmed in early May that it had signed the deal with Google and a group of other companies, including Microsoft, Amazon, and OpenAI, for "lawful operational use."

"When Google signed the deal, my conscience simply said 'nope,'" he told Business Insider.

In May, after the Pentagon announced its agreement with Google and other labs, a Google spokesperson said: "We remain committed to the private and public sector consensus that AI should not be used for domestic mass surveillance or autonomous weaponry without appropriate human oversight."

Google's Pentagon agreement has caused some backlash among its workforce. In April, around 600 of Google's nearly 195,000 employees signed a petition asking the company not to enter into any deal involving classified work. A classified agreement limits how much oversight Google has over how its AI is used.

One DeepMind researcher said on X that he was "ashamed" of Google's Pentagon agreement, while another employee published a resignation letter internally in May, also citing Google's closer relationship with the US military.

Turner said he started thinking about leaving Google in February, when he first thought Google would sign the Pentagon deal.

"I think I would have stayed a few more months if they hadn't signed the deal. When Google signed, I just couldn't do any more work. My brain said 'no,'" he wrote in a blog post published on Wednesday. He told Business Insider that he doesn't have another job lined up yet.

Turner said that earlier this year, he proposed a framework for military AI that he hoped Google might adopt, including provisions to ensure human control over AI targeting systems.

A Google spokesperson told Business Insider that the company had been receptive to hearing Turner's ideas.

Google's changing AI pledgesIn early 2025, Google updated its AI principles to remove pledges that it would not pursue the use of AI for weapons or mass surveillance. Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis co-authored a blog post at the time announcing the changes. The decision caused backlash from some employees at the time.

In an internal message to colleagues sent before he left, Turner said there was a disconnect between Hassabis' comments in an employee town hall that his principles hadn't changed and the decision to remove the pledges.

"If I can't trust this easily verifiable claim, how am I supposed to rest easy on the careful oversight he says protects us?" Turner wrote in the message, which was viewed by Business Insider.

Turner said he got the attention of executives at Google earlier this year.

He said he had lunch with Google's chief scientist, Jeff Dean, to discuss his concerns. He also helped organize an employee letter to Dean, who had publicly shown support for Anthropic during its spat with the White House over military use of AI. The letter called on Google to draw red lines in any agreements with the Pentagon, such as prohibiting Gemini from piloting autonomous weapons without human oversight.

Turner said he sent the proposal for his military AI framework to Hassabis earlier this year, and he told him to have it evaluated by two senior people working in policy at Google. After some discussions about next steps, Turner said he stopped receiving responses. Shortly after, the Department of Defense confirmed it had signed a deal.

"At that point, I couldn't stay at Google in good conscience, so I left," Turner wrote in his blog post.

Turner said he's working on independent AI safety and security work while he works out his next move.

"When an employee leaves a top AI lab, it's often into the arms of another," he wrote. "They usually rack up a huge bonus that way. That's not what I did: I didn't flirt with competitor labs."

"I'm unemployed right now," he added.

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