In the latest trading session, Alphabet Inc. (GOOG - Free Report) closed at $358.71, marking a -1.35% move from the previous day. This move lagged the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.28%. At the same time, the Dow lost 1.09%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 0.2%.
Shares of the company have appreciated by 0.37% over the course of the past month, outperforming the Computer and Technology sector's loss of 1.22%, and lagging the S&P 500's gain of 1.64%.
The investment community will be closely monitoring the performance of Alphabet Inc. in its forthcoming earnings report. The company is expected to report EPS of $2.86, up 23.81% from the prior-year quarter. Alongside, our most recent consensus estimate is anticipating revenue of $101.22 billion, indicating a 23.86% upward movement from the same quarter last year.
Regarding the entire year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates forecast earnings of $14.32 per share and revenue of $423.63 billion, indicating changes of +32.47% and +23.54%, respectively, compared to the previous year.
Any recent changes to analyst estimates for Alphabet Inc. should also be noted by investors. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-term business trends. Consequently, upward revisions in estimates express analysts' positivity towards the business operations and its ability to generate profits.
Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. To utilize this, we have created the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model that integrates these estimate changes and provides a functional rating system.
The Zacks Rank system, which ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection has moved 0.17% higher. Alphabet Inc. is holding a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy) right now.
Valuation is also important, so investors should note that Alphabet Inc. has a Forward P/E ratio of 25.39 right now. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 16.05, which means Alphabet Inc. is trading at a premium to the group.
We can additionally observe that GOOG currently boasts a PEG ratio of 1.55. Comparable to the widely accepted P/E ratio, the PEG ratio also accounts for the company's projected earnings growth. As the market closed yesterday, the Internet - Services industry was having an average PEG ratio of 1.58.
The Internet - Services industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 112, which puts it in the top 46% of all 250+ industries.
The strength of our individual industry groups is measured by the Zacks Industry Rank, which is calculated based on the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within these groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Be sure to use Zacks.com to monitor all these stock-influencing metrics, and more, throughout the forthcoming trading sessions.
When Warren Buffett handed the reins to Greg Abel at the end of 2025, the big question was what Berkshire Hathaway (BRKB 1.83%)(BRKA 1.02%) would do with its enormous pile of cash. We're starting to get an answer, and it has a name: Alphabet (GOOGL 1.32%)(GOOG 1.25%).
Berkshire has rapidly built a position in the Google parent worth more than $20 billion. That's a striking move for a company whose new CEO could easily have spent his first months playing it safe. So what does Abel see in Alphabet, and what does the buying say about how he plans to deploy Berkshire's capital?
Image source: Getty Images.
How the stake came together Berkshire first bought a small amount of Alphabet in the third quarter of 2025, while Buffett was still CEO. But the scale of the purchases changed dramatically once Abel took over. In the first quarter of 2026, Berkshire more than tripled its Alphabet holding. That pushed the position to about $16.6 billion by the end of March, enough to make Alphabet its seventh-largest equity holding.
And then, in June, Berkshire agreed to a $10 billion private placement of Alphabet stock, buying about 28.6 million new shares directly from the company as part of Alphabet's massive equity raise. The purchase was split evenly between Alphabet's two publicly traded share classes, at prices modestly below where the stock traded at the time.
Put it all together, and Abel has directed more than $20 billion into a single technology company in a matter of months. And this is a conglomerate that famously moves slowly and sat on more than $390 billion in cash and Treasury bills at the end of the first quarter. Against that backdrop, the Alphabet buying is a decisive statement of conviction.
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Why Abel keeps buying It's easy to see why Abel probably likes Alphabet stock. Alphabet's advertising engine, Google Search and YouTube, consistently throws off enormous profits. That's the kind of toll-booth economics Buffett spent decades favoring. It makes Alphabet look less like a speculative AI bet and more like a high-quality cash machine trading at a reasonable price.
But the part that likely tipped the scale is the cloud business. Q1, Google Cloud revenue jumped 63% year over year to about $20 billion, and the segment's operating income roughly tripled to $6.6 billion. Even more telling, Alphabet's cloud backlog, meaning contracted work not yet recognized as revenue, almost doubled in a single quarter to more than $460 billion. That figure points to years of demand already under contract as customers reserve capacity for AI workloads.
Of course, Alphabet is spending heavily to meet that demand, guiding for capital expenditures of as much as $190 billion this year. That kind of outlay is exactly what spooks some investors. But a backlog growing this fast is the counterweight, and it helps explain why Abel was willing to write a $10 billion check on top of the open-market buying. Notably, that private placement helped fund the very build-out the backlog represents, so Berkshire is effectively bankrolling growth it also owns a piece of.
Valuation likely played a role, too. Even after a strong run, Alphabet trades at about 28 times earnings. That's hardly a bargain, but it's a sensible price for a business growing operating income 30% year over year with a fast-expanding, increasingly profitable cloud arm underneath it.
For Abel, that mix of quality, growth, and a fair multiple is about as close to a Buffett-style setup as today's market offers among the megacap technology names.
So what does the buying signal about Abel's approach? To me, it suggests he intends to put Berkshire's cash to work in size when he finds a business he understands at a price he likes, rather than hoarding it indefinitely. That's a meaningful shift in tone, and Alphabet is the clearest early evidence of it. The risk, of course, is that Alphabet's heavy AI spending doesn't pay off as hoped, or that regulatory pressure on Google weighs on the stock. But Abel has concentrated real money behind the view that it will. For Berkshire shareholders trying to read the new era, that conviction is worth paying attention to.
Alphabet (GOOGL) has taken a step back recently, says Dave Alison, but you need to zoom out to see how strong the company has become when it comes to its stock and balance sheet. He'll have his eyes on earnings and ways the Mag 7 giant will expand its AI capabilities, especially through cloud and Google Gemini.
Image Credits:Google Google’s SynthID system has been used to debunk a high-profile AI-generated hoax image, in a rare but significant win for the system.
Earlier this week, a picture circulated online that seemed to show Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell covered in tubes in a hospital bed in a state of extreme distress. The image was shared widely on Reddit and X, but by Wednesday, the revered fact-checking site Snopes had debunked the image, noting that, when checked, the image registers as containing the SynthID watermark designed by Google to identify AI-generated pictures.
In short, the watermark worked exactly as it was supposed to in a win for anti-deepfake technology.
Senator McConnell’s health has been the subject of intense speculation since he checked into the hospital after an emergency call on June 14. Since that time, he’s been largely absent from the public eye, fueling speculation that his health may be failing. In this case, however, the evidence proved to be entirely fake.
Launched at Google’s I/O developer conference in 2025, SynthID works as an invisible signature, visible to SynthID algorithms but designed to be unnoticeable to the casual observer. Because the signature is built into the image itself, it survives even when an image is screencaptured across multiple platforms, as the McConnell image was.
SynthID’s main limitation is that it can only be used when an image-generation tool actively participates in the program. Gemini models have included the watermark since the program launched in 2025. OpenAI joined in May 2026, as part of a broader effort to fight malicious image generation. Anthropic does not participate in the program.
Users can check if images contain the watermark by asking a Gemini model or uploading them to OpenAI’s public image verification tool.
SummaryLatest earnings estimates and the web traffic data suggest Alphabet Inc. will become a consistent winner per the rule of 40 for the years to come.Consensus projects 20.8% YOY revenue growth to $116.74B and a normalized net margin of 31.9%, yielding an R40 score for GOOG stock of 52.7.Forward estimates imply a 12.4% CAGR and sustained net margins above 30%, positioning GOOG as a structural rule of 40 compounder.Web traffic momentum, AI adoption, and reasonable P/E multiples underpin GOOG’s long-term alpha potential despite competitive risks.Looking for a helping hand in the market? Members of Envision Early Retirement get exclusive ideas and guidance to navigate any climate. Learn More » vzphotos/iStock Editorial via Getty Images
GOOG stock: FQ2 earnings report outlook I last covered Alphabet Inc. (GOOG, GOOGL) on May 20. That article served as a review of its FQ1 2026 earnings report (ER) and rated the stock
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Analyst’s Disclosure: I/we have no stock, option or similar derivative position in any of the companies mentioned, and no plans to initiate any such positions within the next 72 hours. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.
Seeking Alpha's Disclosure: Past performance is no guarantee of future results. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. Any views or opinions expressed above may not reflect those of Seeking Alpha as a whole. Seeking Alpha is not a licensed securities dealer, broker or US investment adviser or investment bank. Our analysts are third party authors that include both professional investors and individual investors who may not be licensed or certified by any institute or regulatory body.
SummaryAlphabet Inc. maintains a Strong Buy rating, driven by surging demand for Gemini Enterprise and a $460B Cloud backlog despite capacity constraints.Q1 2026 saw 22% revenue growth and Cloud revenue up 63%, but rising Capex and $11B annual compute rentals weigh on near-term margins.Gemini Enterprise’s 8M paid seats grew 40% QoQ, with recurring high-margin revenue poised to reach $9–$11B by 2027 if growth persists.Short-term margin pressure from costly compute rentals is a risk, but robust demand and flexible contracts support the long-term bullish thesis for GOOG stock. BlackJack3D/iStock via Getty Images
Alphabet Inc. (GOOG) (GOOGL) just crossed $4.46 trillion in market value, became the second-most valuable company in the world, and on June 29, 2026, it took Verizon's (VZ) old
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Analyst’s Disclosure: I/we have a beneficial long position in the shares of GOOGL either through stock ownership, options, or other derivatives. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.
Seeking Alpha's Disclosure: Past performance is no guarantee of future results. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. Any views or opinions expressed above may not reflect those of Seeking Alpha as a whole. Seeking Alpha is not a licensed securities dealer, broker or US investment adviser or investment bank. Our analysts are third party authors that include both professional investors and individual investors who may not be licensed or certified by any institute or regulatory body.
Image Credits:Google Google is preparing for its Made by Google launch event, which is scheduled for August 12 in New York City, as announced on Tuesday.
We’re hoping this event will be less cringeworthy than last year’s, which featured Jimmy Fallon and other celebrity appearances, including Stephen Curry and the Jonas Brothers.
There are numerous rumors circulating about the upcoming Pixel 11 lineup. According to email invites shared by outlets like The Verge and Bloomberg, the new devices are expected to feature design upgrades, particularly a new gold color variant for the Pixel 11.
Google Pixel event – August 12 pic.twitter.com/Veo1RCJN7j
— Mark Gurman (@markgurman) July 7, 2026 Other leaks suggest that the base Pixel 11 may come with slimmer bezels and a sleek black camera bar, while the Pixel 11 Pro is rumored to be slightly thinner than its predecessor. Additionally, there is speculation about the Pixel 11 Pro Fold, which might have a redesigned camera bump and a lighter profile compared to the previous model.
On a negative note, one report suggests that Google may skip the 128GB option for the new models, starting instead with 256GB, which could lead to a higher price tag.
Last year, the event took place on August 20, where Google announced the Pixel 10 series, AI-powered upgrades, and other devices, including a new foldable, the Pixel Watch 4, and the second generation of its budget-friendly A-Series earbuds.
Lending support to his choice, Wells Fargo analyst Ken Gawrelski, on July 2, maintained Meta Platforms with an Overweight rating and raised the price target from $765 to $767.
Supporting his view, Morgan Stanley analyst Brian Nowak maintained Alphabet’s Overweight rating on June 30. He also raised the price target from $375 to $415.
Don’t forget to check out our premarket coverage here
Jim Lebenthal, partner and chief market strategist at Cerity Partners, picked Apollo Global Management, Inc. (NYSE:APO).
Apollo said it will release financial results for the second quarter on Tuesday, Aug. 4, before the opening bell. Analysts expect the asset manager to report quarterly earnings at $2.21 per share on revenue of $1.35 billion.
Joseph M. Terranova, senior managing director for Virtus Investment Partners, recommended Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL).
Apple recently raised prices on several hardware products, while leaving iPhone pricing unchanged, citing tightening memory and storage supplies as AI infrastructure spending accelerates.
Price Action Meta shares gained 3% to close at $600.29 on Monday. Alphabet shares rose 1.8% to settle at $366.46 during the session. Apollo Global shares gained 3% to close at $122.17 on Monday. Apple shares rose 1.3% to settle at $312.66 during the session. Photo via Shutterstock
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Google released a newly proposed "AI Governance In America" framework that is worth digging into.
getty
In today’s column, I examine a newly released AI governance framework that is being floated by Google as a means of providing national guidance and oversight of frontier AI. Frontier AI is the type of AI that is customarily considered leading-edge, large-scale in size and scope, and is exemplified by the latest generative AI and large language models (LLMs) of the major AI makers such as OpenAI ChatGPT and GPT-5, Anthropic Claude, xAI Grok, Google Gemini, Microsoft Copilot, and others.
Currently, there isn’t any overarching AI governance mechanism that officially stipulates how, when, where, what, why, and who regarding frontier AI. We are in the early days of the Wild West about AI and the advancement of AI. Some worry that if we don’t formally do something to closely regulate frontier AI, we are doomed. AI makers will continue to rush ahead to get their newest frontier AI into the marketplace and not give sufficient credence to concerns about the AI going awry, potentially leading to an unthinkable existential risk.
A controversial debate is raging over whether regulating frontier AI is a good idea or a bad idea. Too much regulation could dampen AI progress in the U.S. and have us fall behind in the pell-mell global race to advance AI. Too little regulation could allow the unleashing of devilish AI that might wipe us out or at least be horrendously destructive. Which shall we choose? Google posits that a middle ground is to establish an independent entity in the U.S. that would be known as the FARO (Frontier AI Regulatory Organization) and use this new organization to be dedicated to regulating frontier AI in America. The proposal has gotten support and also drawn ire, perhaps emblematic of the controversy all told of how or if frontier AI ought to be regulated.
Let’s talk about it.
This analysis of AI breakthroughs is part of my ongoing Forbes column coverage on the latest in AI, including identifying and explaining various impactful AI complexities (see the link here).
AI And The LawAs a quick background, I’ve been extensively covering and analyzing a myriad of facets regarding the intersection of AI and the law for many years. You can find my writings not only in my Forbes column but also as posted in Bloomberg Law, ABA Law Journal, The National Jurist, The Global Legal Post, Lawyer Monthly, The Legal Technologist, MIT Computational Law Journal, and so on.
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There are two major perspectives on the mixture of AI and law:
(1) Law & AI. The application of laws to the governance and regulation of AI. (2) AI & Law. The application of AI to perform legal reasoning.Thus, you can apply the law to AI, and conversely, you can apply AI to the law. For my big picture overview of both of these exciting and rapidly evolving realms, see my discussion at the link here and the link here.
When it comes to applying the law to AI, the aim is to establish suitable regulations and provide appropriate governance on how AI should be devised and implemented. There are longstanding concerns that AI makers aren’t giving due attention to the ethical ramifications of their wares. Ethical issues are construed as “soft laws” and aren’t as formidable as legally enacted laws, known as “hard laws”. To level the playing field and keep AI makers on the up-and-up, some believe that we need more AI laws.
On the other side of the coin is the application of AI to the law. This consists of using AI to aid legal activities. Lawyers tap into the latest AI to devise legal strategies, brainstorm to find creative legal arguments, draft court filings, and prepare for cases by having the AI pretend to be an able adversary. For my extensive coverage on AI for legal reasoning (AILR), see the link here.
The Current Situation LegallyIn terms of the AI laws in the United States, they have not yet stood the test of time, meaning that we won’t really know how well they stand up until there are court cases that test these new laws. It is too early to know whether the laws will survive legal battles waged by AI makers and other contenders. Just because AI laws are enacted does not mean they are proper. All sorts of improper provisions and constitutionally contentious stipulations are undoubtedly buried within these shiny new AI laws.
Congress has repeatedly waded into establishing an overarching federal law that would encompass AI. So far, no dice. The efforts have ultimately faded from view. Thus, at this time, there isn’t an overarching federal law devoted to these controversial AI matters. The big question will be to what degree a sweeping federal law would impact the numerous state-level AI laws. The odds are that many of the state-level laws would run afoul of a federal mandate, and a tsunami of legal cases would arise as a tussle between federal law and state law is undertaken. It surely will be a legal mess.
The crux is that there is intense and pervasive interest in using the law to govern AI. It is an abundantly burgeoning realm. AI companies would be wise to keep a close eye on what is happening in the hallways and byways of regulators and legislative bodies. I have repeatedly noted that a profitable specialty for budding lawyers is to consider concentrating on the exciting and dynamic field of AI and the law; see my predictions and suggestions at the link here.
Frontier AI Is The AimThe advent of generative AI and large language models (LLMs) has spawned a now-common phrase for being at the leading edge or frontier of AI. When an AI maker comes out with their latest LLM, it is said to be at the cutting edge or frontier of where AI is heading. These frontier models tend to incorporate brand-new foundational advances in AI; the models are usually massive in size and require vast amounts of computing to produce. A simple analogy is to liken this to cars, whereby one might say that an automaker has come up with a new, fully loaded car that has all the latest advances and capabilities.
The policy issue is whether the maker of a frontier AI model should be required to undergo some kind of legally mandated federal pre-checks and testing before the AI maker can release the AI to the public or even for private use. One argument in favor of such legislation is that an AI maker could otherwise freely unleash an AI that is going to wreak havoc. In the car analogy, you might say that it would be akin to having no federally mandated requirements to pre-test cars for safety and reliability.
AI makers are in a free-for-all and can currently do as they wish. Concerns about the unabated release of frontier AI models came to the fore when a recent frontier model was found to have discovered cybersecurity hacks that could potentially undermine computer systems everywhere; see my coverage at the link here. The AI maker opted to wait to release the frontier model. Ought that choice be up to the AI maker, or should Congress pass a federal law that requires frontier models to undergo strictly stipulated pre-checks before they can be released?
A contention made by some is that federally mandated pre-checking would dampen and slow the advancement of AI in the United States. Other countries that don’t force such pre-checks would proceed ahead of us. We would be shooting our own foot in the high-stakes race of AI progress. The counterargument is that we could potentially gut our own country by allowing our AI to go unchecked into the marketplace. Others argue that there can be a middle ground that serves as a Goldilocks approach, namely that the porridge is not too cold or too hot, and that federal laws could be crafted to achieve a balance of risk versus reward.
For more on my analysis of this topic, see the link here.
Google Offers Its Middle GroundSpeaking of a middle ground, Google recently released an AI policy document entitled “A Pragmatic Approach to AI Governance in America” (June 2026) that they assert provides a sensible and practical middle-ground approach to “regulating” frontier AI. To clarify, this doesn’t identify specific new AI laws that might be enacted but instead focuses on the creation of a national entity that would have responsibility for overseeing frontier AI in the U.S.
Here are some excerpted salient points from the AI policy proposal:
“Just as there isn’t a single question about AI, or a single goal policy can achieve, there is no single answer to what AI policy should be. In this paper, we build on the best ideas we have seen to separately address the national security risks of frontier AI and the economic and social impacts of widely deployed AI.”“To protect American innovation and ensure global AI leadership while providing for a safe and secure digital future, leading labs need a unified framework for frontier AI safety, security, incident reporting, and transparency.”“We suggest federal policymakers consider a frontier AI regulatory organization (FARO). A FARO could progress and promote national and international standards, guiding requirements for how developers should identify and mitigate risks and verifying that companies implement security practices and incident response plans before releasing frontier models publicly.”“The issues raised by the widespread use of AI applications like chatbots are distinct from the kinds of national security issues posed by advanced frontier AI models. The U.S. federal government should also, but separately, address everyday uses of AI across the economy through a series of discrete frameworks.”I will walk you through some of the aspects that have particularly drawn controversy or have at least gotten a lot of chatter online. One thing to realize is that this isn’t some far-fetched or out-of-the-blue proposal; namely, there have been others calling for establishing an entity of this nature. The mainstay is that this is Google making this recommendation and therefore carries perhaps hefty weight in comparison to AI researchers or others who have been doing likewise.
Debating The Degree Of AI RegulationsOne notable grievance is that there seems to be a new vibe going around overall that attempts to couch the AI regulatory gambit somewhat perniciously. This Google proposal appears to play into that vibe. Allow me to lay this out for you.
We have so far been mired in the on/off dichotomy debate, consisting of two starkly contrasting possibilities:
(1) No regulations on AI.(2) Heavy regulations on AI.You can imagine that this is the typical polarization we seem to have in our society today. Things are either one way or the other way. There is no room in between. To try and get above this earthly dichotomy, many are now saying they are tired of the on/off earsplitting disputes and wish to offer a third option. This certainly sounds refreshing.
The third option is nearly always placed smack dab in the middle of the other two:
(1) No regulations on AI.(2) Middle-ground regulations on AI.(3) Heavy regulations on AI.The beauty of this clever positioning is that anyone taking this stance appears to be above the fray. You would thus fall into the mental trap that they must be taking a balanced approach. It is a trick of taking your mind away from the distasteful extremes of debate and appearing to offer a reasonable compromise, which maybe it is or maybe it isn’t.
To show you what I mean, we could split the apple pie into four slices rather than three, such as this:
(1) No regulations on AI.(2) Modest regulations on AI.(3) Substantial regulations on AI.(4) Heavy regulations on AI.The gist is that we now have a middle ground that consists of two possibilities. The other middle ground in the three-count setup could have been closer to no regulations or closer to heavy regulations. We don’t really know that it is somehow purely in the middle. It appears to be in the middle simply because it is the third option that happens to be between the other two extremes.
Of course, we can keep going in this splitting of the pie:
(1) No regulations on AI. (2) Minimal regulations on AI.(3) Modest regulations on AI.(4) Substantial regulations on AI.(5) Heavy regulations on AI.Claiming that something is a middle ground is not necessarily a middle ground in the sense of being perfectly positioned as the middle stance of two extremes. We must be careful in falling for semantic wording that instantly gets us to perceive a so-called middle ground as the better or best option. I say this due to the recent tendency for lots of pundits at the extremes who are now claiming their opinion is the middle ground, doing so by either making this up or by replacing the goalposts with extremes that seem to cast their posture into a middle ground.
Focus Of AI RegulationsAnother crucial consideration is that there is a trend to divide up AI into two types, consisting of frontier AI and non-frontier AI. Some refer to the non-frontier AI as being below frontier AI. In that sense, we are to think of frontier AI as the tiptop advanced AI, and then anything else is accordingly below that top level. If we merely said non-frontier AI, presumably this could suggest that there is other AI above the frontier AI.
Not everyone is comfortable with dividing AI into those two types. The Google proposal opts to use that framing, such that the FARO would only be overseeing frontier AI, while the below-frontier AI would be handled elsewhere.
We have this categorization:
(1) Frontier AI.(2) Below Frontier AI.What other ways might we divide up AI?
Some believe that it is better to consider the risks associated with AI (this has become both famous and infamous due to the EU AI Act; see my coverage at the link here). There is a claim that an AI doesn’t have to be a frontier AI to necessarily pose grave risks. The frontier AI is likely to have greater risks, but not exclusively so. If our attention is going to be on coping with AI risks, the belief is that rather than setting up an overseeing entity that is mandated to focus on frontier AI, it ought to be focused on risk levels instead.
Therefore, under that logic, we might have an entity that is directed at considering these risk levels:
(1) Low-risk AI.(2) Medium-risk AI.(3) High-risk AI.We could then declare that the entity is perhaps only to focus on high-risk AI, and allow the medium-risk and low-risk to be handled elsewhere. Or we could say that the entity encompasses medium-risk and high-risk, and leave the low-risk for our avenues.
Devising A New EntityThe Google proposal recommends that an independent entity be established. There is plenty of precedent for this in many other areas of societal domain-specific oversight. The proposal identifies several common examples.
Even that aspect of an independent entity carries controversy. Some ardently believe that a new independent entity is going to be a distraction. It will need to be created from scratch, and dedicated workers will need to be hired. The entity might start to become bloated. It could veer from its designated mission. The entity might fight for resources to survive, drifting from its main purpose. On and on, these open-ended horror stories are expressed.
What other options might there be?
The usual possibilities are these:
(1) Assign an existing U.S. governmental agency to oversee all AI governance.(2) Establish a new U.S. governmental agency to oversee all AI governance.(3) Establish a new independent organization with governmental agency oversight.The third one is the gist of the Google proposal, and the document provides its rationale for going that route. The other options are more heavily tilted toward the U.S. government having direct oversight of frontier AI. Some would say they are much more comfortable with the entity being a formal governmental organization. Others would decry that this is worse by far than an independent organization that would have arms-length governmental agency oversight.
Your choice is likely based on your perception of which can do a better job and how much the U.S. government should have a direct versus indirect role in overseeing frontier AI.
The Big Picture ViewpointLet’s consider the big picture positives of an independent nationwide entity that would oversee frontier AI and have a federal agency semblance of oversight:
Creates a single overarching federally mandated focal point with a focus on frontier AI.Would consist of dedicated experts on AI, national security, economics, etc.Provides for the establishment of across-the-board consistent AI standards and safety guidelines.Improves AI national security coordination.Collects and analyzes AI critical incidents akin to aviation safety.Promotes international cooperation regarding frontier AI advances and releases.Reduces regulatory duplication within and between existing federal agencies and is hopefully nimbler than conventional governmental efforts.And so on. Now that we have the upbeat side, let’s think about the tradeoffs and downsides:
Determining what constitutes frontier AI is still murky and could leave out AI that ought to be encompassed within the scope of this entity.The below-frontier AI could still pose grave risks and is seemingly left to a sketchy and scattered range of oversight options.The independent entity might not move quickly enough to cope with the rapidly evolving pace of frontier AI and fall behind its crucial mission.The entity might foster a risk of regulatory capture, wherein AI makers get cozy, and the entity no longer sufficiently performs its independent role.If there are costs associated with dealing with the independent entity, this might aid the large AI makers and be a disadvantage or discouragement to startups and smaller AI players.The entity might go down the path of gradual mission creep and find other avenues for pursuing its interests, drifting from its core mission and splintering its attention.It might get into bitter fights with existing federal agencies, leading to extensive and exhaustive court cases to try to settle these disagreements.And so on.I kept those lists to about seven key points each. Please know that there are a lot more upsides and downsides. That is to be expected and not a surprise. No matter which route we go, there are going to be weighty tradeoffs. There isn’t a rabbit in a hat that is simply waiting to be put on display.
The World We Are InFor those of you who are keenly interested in AI policy and AI governance, especially those who are AI ethicists and AI legal beagles, you ought to give a close read to the Google proposal. I suppose it is obvious to point out that Google has a big stake in these matters, and they are not on the sidelines. A smarmy cynic would say that whatever is proposed would be a sign of something that the tech bros want and, ergo, should be opposed. I don’t think we are going to make progress on these challenging matters if that’s the viewpoint that is going to be utilized.
We need to keep the dialogue going. Advances in AI are coming at a frenetic pace. A lot is on the line. What can we do to mitigate AI risks and yet retain and support AI advantages and benefits? This is the demonstrative question facing us now, and the answer will inexorably shape our future.
As the great statesman and philosopher Francis Bacon once remarked: “They are ill discoverers that think there is no land, when they can see nothing but sea.” Let’s keep our minds open – I’m optimistic that we can find a fruitful place to land.
Google has backed Germany-based Proxima Fusion, which is looking to build Europe's first commercial fusion power plant, in a 411 million euros ($468 million) round, the company announced on Tuesday.
Nuclear fusion is the process of combining two hydrogen atoms to form one helium atom, releasing huge amounts of energy.
While it promises an abundance of energy, the technology has not been deployed commercially, with the industry racing to overcome technical challenges. All current nuclear power plants use fission, which involves splitting atoms.
Google's investment underscores its continued interest in fusion as a potential source of abundant, carbon-free, firm energy over the long-term, Proxima, which hit a $2.7 billion valuation, said.
The round was led by XTX Ventures and East X Ventures, with RWE and Google as strategic investors. Other venture capital firms including Plural, UVC Partners, Balderton and Cherry Ventures also participated.
"Europe is racing with the United States and China to get to the first fusion power plant," Francesco Sciortino, cofounder and CEO, said in a statement.
"Proxima's financing demonstrates that Europe can not only invent breakthrough technologies, but also build globally competitive companies around them," he added.
"Investors recognise both the urgency and the opportunity of what we're doing and are backing us to develop a generational energy technology company."
What is stellarator fusion technology?Proxima is developing stellarator technology, one of a handful of approaches to fusion, and hopes to have its fusion demonstrator — a proof-of-concept precursor to a commercial power plant — up and running in the early 2030s.
The commercial power plant is targeted for later that decade, the company said.
Proxima said the funding would help it expand high-temperature superconducting (HTS) cable and magnet production, as well as develop engineering and manufacturing systems required for stellarators.
Proxima will be hiring across engineering, manufacturing and operations to accelerate progress, it said.
How Proxima compares with U.S. fusion startupsWhile Proxima is the best-funded fusion startup in Europe by some distance, U.S. companies working on the technology have raised significantly more.
Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS) picked up $863 million in August, to take its total funding to $2.9 billion, according to Dealroom. Sam Altman-backed Helion Energy raised $465 million last month, with total funding sitting at $1.5 billion.
Google is also an investor in CFS and signed an offtake agreement in June 2025 with the company once its first commercial plant is live.
"Fusion holds huge potential as an energy source of the future: it's clean, abundant and inherently safe, and it can be built just about anywhere," the company said in a blog post at the time.
Highlighting the hurdles left to overcome with the technology, Google added that while fusion could change the world, commercializing the tech is "immensely challenging, and success is not guaranteed."
Google logo is displayed at Google's headquarters in New York City, U.S., July 1, 2026. REUTERS/Aleksandra Michalska Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab
CompaniesJuly 7 (Reuters) - Magnetic fusion start-up Proxima Fusion has raised €411 million ($469.69 million) from investors including Alphabet's (GOOGL.O), opens new tab Google and German utility RWE (RWEG.DE), opens new tab as part of a financing round, the Munich-based start-up said on Tuesday.
"Proxima’s financing demonstrates that Europe can not only invent breakthrough technologies, but also build globally competitive companies around them," Francesco Sciortino, Proxima Fusion's chief executive, said in a statement
The round was led by XTX Ventures and East X Ventures, with RWE and Google as strategic investors, the company said
It added that the financing round brings Proxima Fusion's valuation to €2.4 billion ($2.7 billion)
German utility company RWE invested €25 million euros in the funding round
RWE signed an agreement with Proxima to partner on building the first stellarator fusion power plant on the site of a former nuclear fission power plant in Gundremmingen, Bavaria
Unlike the burning of fossil fuels or the fission process of existing nuclear power plants, nuclear fusion offers the possibility of abundant energy without pollution, radioactive waste or greenhouse gases, replicating with lasers or magnets the reaction that fuels the sun
($1 = 0.8750 euros)
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Reporting by Danny Callaghan, Editing by Friederike Heine
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab
Google has expanded the scope of data it collects to train its artificial intelligence models, now incorporating media uploaded by users across several of its primary search-related services.
The policy change, Engadget reported Monday (July 6), was implemented without much public fanfare and allows the technology giant to use images, audio, video and other files submitted through tools such as Google Lens and Google Translate.
Google’s move highlights the demand for high-quality datasets as generative AI developers confront a scarcity of fresh information to feed their large language models.
Under the updated terms, any photo uploaded to Google Lens for visual identification or audio captured during a voice-activated search may be harvested for training purposes. The data collection also extends to any files processed through Google Translate, encompassing “images, files and audio and video recordings,” according to the report.
For professionals in the digital economy and banking sectors concerned with data privacy or corporate security, it is notable that users are automatically opted into this training program. Engadget, citing earlier findings by TechCrunch, notes that the current policy is restricted to search-related products; personal repositories such as Google Photos are currently excluded from this specific training data sweep.
As generative AI seeks new data sources, Google has provided a manual mechanism for users to restrict their data from being used in this manner. To opt out, users must navigate to their dedicated Search Services History page to uncheck the “Save Media” box. Additionally, users are advised to review their Search Services Personalization settings to ensure no further media is being retained for AI training.
For those seeking to limit their interaction with Google’s AI outputs entirely, the report also highlights a technical workaround: appending “-AI” to a search query will effectively remove AI-generated overview results from the interface.
The shift underscores a broader trend among Big Tech firms seeking to leverage proprietary user interactions to maintain a competitive edge in the AI race, even as questions regarding user permission and data ownership persist. Google itself highlighted this trend earlier this year, when the company pressured news organizations to allow its AI to train on their articles or risk losing the annual payment for being featured in Google News.
Alphabet (GOOGL - Free Report) ended the recent trading session at $366.46, demonstrating a +1.82% change from the preceding day's closing price. This change outpaced the S&P 500's 0.72% gain on the day. On the other hand, the Dow registered a gain of 0.3%, and the technology-centric Nasdaq increased by 1.12%.
The internet search leader's stock has dropped by 2.34% in the past month, exceeding the Computer and Technology sector's loss of 6.12% and lagging the S&P 500's loss of 0.9%.
Investors will be eagerly watching for the performance of Alphabet in its upcoming earnings disclosure. The company is predicted to post an EPS of $2.86, indicating a 23.81% growth compared to the equivalent quarter last year. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $101.22 billion, up 23.86% from the prior-year quarter.
For the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $14.32 per share and revenue of $423.63 billion, which would represent changes of +32.47% and +23.54%, respectively, from the prior year.
Any recent changes to analyst estimates for Alphabet should also be noted by investors. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. Hence, positive alterations in estimates signify analyst optimism regarding the business and profitability.
Our research reveals that these estimate alterations are directly linked with the stock price performance in the near future. To take advantage of this, we've established the Zacks Rank, an exclusive model that considers these estimated changes and delivers an operational rating system.
Ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), the Zacks Rank system has a proven, outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks returning an average of +25% annually since 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection has moved 0.18% higher. Alphabet is holding a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) right now.
In terms of valuation, Alphabet is presently being traded at a Forward P/E ratio of 25.13. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 15.37, which means Alphabet is trading at a premium to the group.
Also, we should mention that GOOGL has a PEG ratio of 1.54. Comparable to the widely accepted P/E ratio, the PEG ratio also accounts for the company's projected earnings growth. Internet - Services stocks are, on average, holding a PEG ratio of 1.6 based on yesterday's closing prices.
The Internet - Services industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 107, which puts it in the top 44% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Don't forget to use Zacks.com to keep track of all these stock-moving metrics, and others, in the upcoming trading sessions.
Alphabet (GOOG +2.44%) (GOOGL +1.87%) has been a top stock to own over the past year. If you bought shares at this time last year, you're up about 100% on your investment. However, the stock has shown some weakness lately and is currently about 12% off its all-time high set at the beginning of May.
With the stock going on sale for the first time in a while, many investors are wondering if this is their chance to get into Alphabet stock at a much lower price. Let's take a look at Alphabet's long-term prospects and see if this dip is a smart time to buy the stock.
Image source: The Motley Fool.
Alphabet's AI strategy is panning out Early last year, Alphabet was written off as an artificial intelligence (AI) loser. AI was supposed to replace Google Search, and Alphabet's attempts at a large language model were not panning out. However, all of that seemed to be dispelled throughout 2025, which kicked off a major rally in the stock.
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Now it's clear Alphabet will be an AI winner.
Its strategy is fairly simple: Cast a wide net and see how much market it can capture. As it turns out, this wide net has captured nearly everything it set out to catch.
For Google Search, Alphabet updated the platform to include an AI-powered search summary with each result, bringing AI to the masses. Its own generative AI model, Gemini, has quickly emerged as one of the most powerful options available, especially at lower price points. Lastly, Google Cloud has become one of the top options for running AI workloads.
All these endeavors have led to a dominant AI strategy, and the market has rewarded the stock with huge gains. But has it gotten too expensive?
GOOG PE Ratio (Forward) data by YCharts
At 25 times forward earnings, Alphabet's stock is on the higher end of its valuation that investors have seen over the past couple of years. But 25 times forward earnings is about where I'd expect an AI hyperscaler to trade. So, I don't think Alphabet's stock is expensive, but I don't consider it cheap either. Alphabet's future returns will come from business growth, and with Wall Street analysts guiding for 21% growth this year and 19% next year, I think it's a pretty compelling AI stock to buy now.
Alphabet won't be growing at a 100% pace anytime soon, but I think it's a strong candidate to crush the market over the next few years.
Consider this a belated PSA: A recent change to Google’s privacy settings is allowing the company to store more of your data, including media such as “images, files, and audio and video recordings,” to improve its AI models. In other words, if you upload any media to Google’s Search services, it’s being used to train AI unless you opt out.
The change came about via an under-the-radar update to Google’s Search services privacy settings, announced in June via a customer email. With the update, the company essentially opted people into this expanded AI training under the guise of giving users more control over their saved history and personalized recommendations.
Image Credits:Google (screenshot) The update introduced two new settings, Search Services History and Personalized Recommendations, allowing you to configure how your activity is used to personalize your Google experience and how long your web and app activity is saved.
This update applies beyond Google Search itself, and also includes other search services such as Maps, Shopping, Flights, Hotels, Translate, and News.
For instance, when you use Google Lens to search for something visually by snapping a photo, that image may now be saved for AI training.
Similarly, if you use the newer Search Live feature to search via voice input in the Google app, those audio recordings could be saved, as can any other Google voice search. If you use Google Translate to practice speaking, that audio is saved, too.
The changes reflect a broader industry shift toward gathering data by any means necessary to improve AI services. Instead of relying solely on information scraped from the web, Google and others are increasingly collecting data that people upload or create when using their services. Meta is another example of a consumer-facing tech company doing this at scale, training its AI on users’ images and media, as well as on content recorded by its AI glasses.
Google confirms the media-training use directly, stating in that email to customers: “Like your Search Services History, your saved media is also used to develop and improve Google services and technologies, including AI models and safety measures.”
Its help documentation echoes this, noting that the company “uses your history to provide, develop, and improve its services (such as training generative AI models) and to protect Google, its users, and the public with the help of human reviewers.”
Some of this storage is temporary and tied to making the product work, but per Google’s own language, saved media can also be retained specifically to train its AI.
Adjusting your settings The good news is you have some control here. You can change your preferences on the Search Services History and Search Services Personalization pages. On the former, you can uncheck the “Save Media” box separately from the “Search Services History” box, or uncheck both. You can also configure how often you want saved data automatically deleted — after 3 months, 18 months, or 36 months.
From there, you can jump to this page to dig into other privacy settings, including Web & App Activity, Timeline, YouTube History, and more.
Image Credits:Google (screenshot) Beyond saved media, Google also uses your search history, location, and other information from the websites you visit to personalize your experience on Google, including which ads are shown.
Before this update, Google let you configure what historical search data was saved via its “Web & App Activity” settings. That’s now been separated into two settings: the Web & App Activity data and the new Search data setting, which is on by default.
That means if you make a change to the Web & App Activity data retention settings in an effort to opt out of having your data stored by the tech giant, the update will no longer impact your use of Google Search services, as it’s now a separate option.
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Sarah has worked as a reporter for TechCrunch since August 2011. She joined the company after having previously spent over three years at ReadWriteWeb. Prior to her work as a reporter, Sarah worked in I.T. across a number of industries, including banking, retail and software.
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Google's status as the dream tech job is changing. FOMO over AI salaries is only one reason why. By You're currently following this author! Want to unfollow? Unsubscribe via the link in your email.
Google's reputation as a dream employer is evolving in the AI era. Stefan Rousseau/PA Images via Getty Images Earning nearly $1 million a year wasn't enough to keep Yousuf Imran at Google.
In 2026, Imran earned $986,000 as a Google account executive, largely from sales commissions on top of a roughly $170,000 base salary. Even still, he couldn't help but notice the potential for "life-changing money" the AI boom was creating outside Big Tech.
"Google pays very well, but the equity packages at OpenAI and Anthropic are in a different universe," said Imran, 41, who lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Meanwhile, seeing talented colleagues get laid off over the previous few years made him less confident about his long-term job security. In April, after building AI side projects in his spare time, Imran left Google to launch an AI sales tools startup.
For years, Google's reputation as a workplace was almost as famous as its search engine. Its sprawling campuses, generous perks, and the opportunity to shape products used by billions of people made it one of the world's most coveted employers.
That reputation hasn't disappeared, but for some employees, it has become more complicated. Interviews with 12 current and former Google employees — including six who recently left the company — suggest the AI boom has created opportunities that have become too compelling for some Googlers to ignore. In recent weeks, the company has lost several high-profile AI researchers to OpenAI and Anthropic.
But the AI boom isn't the only reason. Years of layoffs, shifts in workplace culture, and other changes have also led employees across the company to question whether it remains the best place to build their careers.
Google no longer feels like the safe betGoogle was the world's most attractive employer for business students for more than a decade, according to employer-branding firm Universum. But in 2022, it fell to second behind Apple. In the US specifically, Google fell from first among business students in 2023 to fifth in the firm's most recent survey, though it remained the most attractive employer among IT students.
Few factors matter more to current and prospective employees than job security. Between its founding in 1998 and 2022, large-scale layoffs were rare at Google. In 2023, the company cut about 12,000 jobs, or roughly 6% of its workforce. Smaller rounds of layoffs and voluntary buyouts followed as Google shifted resources toward AI, reduced layers of management, and recalibrated after pandemic-era hiring.
Yousuf Imran said the AI boom and recent layoffs helped shape his decision to leave Google. Yousuf Imran For some employees, the repeated cuts fundamentally changed how they thought about the stability of a career at Google.
About six months after Joslyn Orgill started as a data engineer at Google, the company announced its 2023 layoffs. Though Orgill kept her job, she said the layoffs were among the reasons she left last year to pursue a Ph.D. in computer science.
Taylor M. LaSane was among the employees who accepted a buyout last year. She had already considered focusing on the career coaching business she'd started three years earlier, but said the repeated layoffs made leaving Google feel less risky than it might have in the past.
Looking for a bigger impactGoogle still offers many of the generous perks that helped make it famous as an employer. But some employees say the experience of working there has changed on the margins in recent years.
The company has scaled back some office amenities and budgets, including reducing the hours of certain office cafés in 2023 as part of cost-cutting efforts. Some employees also said budgets for certain travel, team events, and holiday celebrations have tightened, while work-from-home policies have become more restrictive.
For some employees, one of the very qualities that made Google such an attractive employer — its scale and reach — also made it harder to see the direct impact of their own work.
"At a Big Tech company, you're one piece of a very large machine," said Aashna Doshi, who left Google in May to launch an AI startup. "I craved the ability to make decisions, move fast, and see the direct results of my work."
Aashna Doshi left Google in May to build an AI startup. Aashna Doshi For Doshi, the chance to build something of her own ultimately outweighed the security of staying at Google.
"The scarier version of this decision wasn't leaving Google," she said. "It was staying and always wondering what could have been."
The AI boom changed the equationMany of the changes reshaping Google aren't unique to the company. Tech workers across the industry have navigated layoffs, shifting workplace policies, and the rapid rise of AI. For many employees, Google remains one of the most desirable places to build a career in tech.
But as OpenAI and Anthropic race toward potential IPOs, the prospect of pre-IPO equity has become a powerful lure for some workers. Career coach Sundeep Teki previously told Business Insider that nearly every AI job seeker he speaks with wants to work at one of the two companies.
Though some Google employees have voiced frustration over smaller compensation increases, the company's six-figure salaries and generous stock grants remain the envy of much of the corporate world. A Google spokesperson previously told Business Insider that the company remains confident in its ability to attract and retain talent.
For some former Googlers, however, even Google's generous compensation isn't enough to outweigh the opportunities created by the AI boom — whether that's joining a fast-growing AI company or building one of their own.
"If the only way to get real upside in this AI moment is equity, at some point, you ask yourself whether the equity should be in your own company," Imran said.
Have a story to share about working in tech? Reach reporter Jacob Zinkula via email at [email protected], or via Signal at jzinkula.29.
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Under Warren Buffett's leadership and now continuing with Greg Abel at the helm, Berkshire Hathaway has long sought out exceptional businesses capable of compounding value over decades rather than chasing short-term market movements.
In years past, Buffett described certain portfolio investments as forever stocks -- stakes in companies that are so fundamentally strong that Berkshire intends to own them indefinitely. These types of ownership interests are in businesses that have proven, durable competitive advantages, predictable cash flow, and an ability to reinvest earnings at high returns on an annual basis.
I think Berkshire's decision to steadily increase its position in Alphabet (GOOGL 0.23%) (GOOG 0.48%) reflects a deep commitment to long-term ownership that has defined the investment conglomerate for decades. Let's take a look at what makes Alphabet so unique and assess how it could evolve into Berkshire's next forever stock.
Image source: Getty Images.
What makes a stock a forever holding? The most classic example of a forever stock in Berkshire's portfolio is Coca-Cola. Berkshire began accumulating shares in the late 1980s and has held shares through multiple market cycles, recessions, and leadership changes without ever dumping the core position.
The appeal lies in Coke's unmatched brand moat, vast distribution network, and pricing power -- qualities that generate consistent profitability regardless of economic conditions. Similar thinking could be applied to larger holdings such as American Express, where network effects and customer loyalty create barriers to entry and switching costs that competitors struggle to overcome at scale.
The takeaway here is that forever holdings ultimately reward patience: Berkshire benefits from decades of compound earnings growth and dividend increases while avoiding the cost and taxes associated with frequent trading.
Image source: The Motley Fool.
When did Berkshire first buy Alphabet stock? According to 13F filings, Berkshire first disclosed a stake in Alphabet during the third quarter of 2025 -- acquiring 17.8 million shares. By the end of the first quarter of 2026, Berkshire's Alphabet position had more than tripled to roughly 54 million shares.
The most recent addition came just last month. After Alphabet announced plans to raise $80 billion in equity to fund its artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure build-outs, Berkshire agreed to purchase $10 billion of new shares through a private placement. The transaction was split evenly: $5 billion across both Class A and Class C shares.
This deal directly follows Berkshire's earlier purchases, signaling continued conviction in Alphabet's long-term trajectory even as the C-suite transitioned at Berkshire.
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Why Alphabet could become a forever holding Alphabet possesses several characteristics that have historically attracted Berkshire to permanent ownership. For starters, Alphabet's business model is exceptionally diverse, spanning internet search (Google), video (YouTube), mobile software (Android), cloud computing (Google Cloud), and ambitious bets in AI and autonomous driving. This breadth provides multiple growth drivers while reducing reliance on any single revenue stream.
Indeed, Alphabet maintains a near-monopoly position in online search supported by sticky user habits, proprietary data advantages, and unmatched brand recognition. These moats bring unprecedented scale and profitability to the company's core advertising business.
Furthermore, Alphabet has meaningful footholds in both consumer and enterprise markets. In particular, Google Cloud has emerged as a fast-growing, high-margin segment serving businesses and individuals worldwide. Lastly, Alphabet also pays a modest dividend -- a feature Berkshire has long favored because it demonstrates both financial strength and a willingness to return capital to shareholders.
The combination of a solid core advertising business, expanding high-return opportunities in the AI ecosystem, and a shareholder-friendly capital allocation program makes Alphabet a natural extension of the forever-holding template.
Like Coca-Cola from decades earlier, Alphabet now represents the type of high-quality compounder that rewards investors willing to hold through periods of volatility and focus more on the underlying business performance. Berkshire's growing commitment to Alphabet underscores this enduring appeal, making it a compelling stock to buy and hold over a multiyear horizon.
A year ago, Alphabet (GOOG 0.48%)(GOOGL 0.23%) traded under $180 per share and carried a market value less than half of today's. As of this writing, the stock sits at about $360 -- a clean double in 12 months, achieved by a company that was already one of the largest in the world when the run began.
A move like that leaves two groups of investors uneasy: those who own the stock and wonder whether to take profits, and those who don't and wonder whether they missed it. With shares about 12% below their 52-week high after an early July wobble in artificial intelligence (AI) trades, the question is worth asking properly. Is it too late to buy?
Image source: Getty Images.
It's not just the stock that's soaring The important thing about Alphabet's run is that it wasn't only the stock that soared. The earnings power underneath it transformed, too.
In the first quarter of 2026, Alphabet's revenue rose 22% year over year to $109.9 billion -- the company's 11th consecutive quarter of double-digit growth. Profits came with one caveat: earnings per share soared 82%, but a large slice of that jump reflected unrealized investment gains rather than operations. The cleaner signal was operating income, which rose 30% as operating margin expanded 2 percentage points to 36.1%.
The main engine behind the stock's run, however, is Google Cloud.
"Google Cloud revenues grew 63% with backlog nearly doubling quarter on quarter to over $460 billion," said CEO Sundar Pichai in the company's first-quarter earnings release.
A backlog isn't guaranteed revenue, and converting it will take years. But it gives Alphabet's growth a visibility few businesses this size can claim -- customers have effectively reserved hundreds of billions of dollars of cloud computing and AI infrastructure work in advance.
The quarter also showed a strong consumer business. Alphabet said paid subscriptions, led by YouTube and Google One, have reached 350 million -- and management called it the company's strongest quarter ever for its consumer AI plans.
And the core business has seen impressive momentum, too. Google Search and other revenue grew 19% last quarter, quieting the fear that hung over the stock through 2025 -- that AI chatbots would erode search advertising. So far, the opposite appears true, with search usage climbing alongside the new AI features.
Is there still room? A doubled stock naturally raises the suspicion that the price ran ahead of the business. The numbers, however, suggest something more balanced is happening. At about 26 times forward earnings, Alphabet trades near the valuation multiples many slower-growing defensive names command -- while compounding revenue at a 20%-plus rate. That isn't cheap in absolute terms, because nothing growing this fast is. But it's far from the valuations attached to the market's more speculative AI names.
Still, buyers today should keep three risks in view.
First, the growth requires staggering investment. Alphabet has lifted its planned 2026 capital spending to as much as $190 billion, and management expects the figure to rise significantly again in 2027. Returns on that capital could take years to prove out.
Second, the bar is high. After cloud revenue accelerated significantly in Q1 to an impressive 63% year-over-year rate, investors will likely expect further acceleration throughout the year. And the same cloud backlog that gives investors visibility also means they have high expectations.
Third, a stock that doubles in a year can retrace sharply on sentiment alone. Alphabet's own 12% slide from its high in recent weeks is a mild preview of what a broader AI-spending scare could do.
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So, is it too late?
I don't think so -- with an adjustment to expectations. The next double will almost certainly take far longer than 12 months, because the market has already repriced Alphabet from doubted search company to AI infrastructure leader. What remains is the slower, steadier compounding of a dominant business still growing faster than almost anything else its size.
For investors who watched the run from the sidelines, Alphabet, at 26 times forward earnings with accelerating growth, arguably beats most defensive names trading at similar multiples with single-digit growth. Starting a position here and building it gradually -- in case the AI trade's summer volatility offers better prices -- still looks reasonable for a long-term portfolio. The stock's rerating is likely over. But the compounding probably isn't.
I keep buying Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG | GOOG Price Prediction) because every quarter it hands me a new reason to. This is the one AI position where the receipts arrive on schedule, the moat is visible in the numbers, and the price still lets me add without holding my nose. I am compounding into a business that is now printing cash on a scale most companies will never approach.
Google owns the front door to the internet and is turning that traffic into an AI toll road while the rest of the industry is still building on-ramps.
When Sundar Pichai said on the Q1 call, “We are genuinely differentiated. We’re unique in the market because of our vertically optimized AI stack”, I read it as a description of the income statement. Custom TPUs, Gemini models, Cloud, Search, YouTube, Android, Waymo. One company, one stack, one cash engine.
The numbers that keep my finger on the buy button Q1 2026 EPS came in at $5.11 against a $2.63 consensus, a 94.10% beat and the fourth consecutive EPS beat. Revenue hit $109.90 billion, up 21.8% year over year, with operating income at $39.70 billion and a 36.1% operating margin. Full year 2025 revenue crossed $402.84 billion for the first time. Return on equity sits at 38.9%.
Google Cloud revenue grew 63% year over year to $20.03 billion, and backlog nearly doubled quarter on quarter to over $460 billion. Cloud operating margin expanded from 17.8% a year ago to 32.9%.
Gemini is running at 16 billion tokens per minute through the API, up from 10 billion the prior quarter, and GenAI product revenue grew nearly 800% year over year. This is enterprise money landing.
Act now: the analyst who called NVIDIA in 2010 just named his top 10 AI stocks — and Google didn't make the cut. Grab the names FREE today.
Alphabet raised its quarterly dividend 5% to $0.22 per share, sits on $38.06 billion in cash against $478.75 billion in shareholders’ equity, and trades at a trailing P/E of 27 and a forward P/E of 25. Fifty-eight buy ratings, zero sells.
The stock is up 98.71% over the past year and 13.65% year to date, and I am still adding.
The risk I am not glossing over The real concern is capital intensity. CapEx more than doubled year over year to $35.67 billion in Q1, and management now guides 2026 CapEx to $180 billion to $190 billion, with 2027 expected to increase further. Free cash flow fell 46.63% year over year to $10.12 billion. If AI demand cools before those data centers are paid for, the return on that spend gets ugly.
That $460 billion Cloud backlog is a signed answer to the demand question. CFO Anat Ashkenazi called it “unprecedented internal and external demand for AI compute resources”, and Pichai flatly said the company is “compute constrained”. When customers are lined up and you cannot ship fast enough, spending is a moat.
Search revenue still grew 19% to $60.40 billion, paid subscriptions crossed 350 million, and Waymo is doing over 500,000 fully autonomous rides per week. I own a search company, a cloud company, an AI lab, a video platform, and a robotaxi operator inside one ticker at a market multiple. That is why I cannot stop buying.
Act now: the analyst who called NVIDIA in 2010 just named his top 10 AI stocks — and Google didn't make the cut. Grab the names FREE today.
Despite a growing number of headwinds, the S&P 500 (^GSPC +0.00%) has continued its march higher in 2026. The benchmark index was up 9.6% through the first half of the year, even amid an ongoing war in Iran that sent oil prices spiking. While we expected the Fed to lower interest rates in 2026, it's now more likely we'll see one or two interest rate hikes before the end of the year. Meanwhile, stock valuations have climbed to their highest level in history, outside the dot-com bubble, according to certain measures.
But the biggest warning signal that the bull market may be closer to the end than the start is coming from three companies: Space Exploration Technologies (SPCX +2.69%), better known as SpaceX, Alphabet (GOOG 0.37%) (GOOGL 0.23%), Google's parent company, and SK Hynix, one of the leading memory chipmakers.
Here's what investors need to know.
Image source: Getty Images.
Setting new records on Wall Street The above three companies all made history in recent weeks.
Alphabet issued $85 billion worth of stock on June 2, the largest public equity raise in Wall Street history. SpaceX outdid Alphabet with its initial public offering on June 12, which ultimately raised $86 billion after the underwriters exercised their option to buy additional shares, making it the biggest IPO in history. SK Hynix, a Korean company, is set to list American depository receipts on the Nasdaq in a few weeks, raising up to $29 billion. That would be a record amount for an ADR. These companies are seeking substantial capital from investors. And not only are they receiving it, but they're getting even more than they initially asked for. Alphabet initially planned to raise $80 billion, and SpaceX's IPO was meant to raise $75 billion. Combined, the three companies will raise about $200 billion.
$200 billion in cash doesn't just appear out of nowhere. Investors have to sell other assets to put up that money. Most likely, they're selling other securities, which will put pressure on the rest of the stock market. With more giant IPOs coming down the pipeline and more SpaceX shares entering the market post-lockup, there's still a huge amount of money that will shift in the market.
But these equity raises may signal something that could have a much bigger impact on long-term stock returns from here.
Why are these companies using equity to raise capital? It's worth noting that all three companies are well-positioned to raise capital in the bond market rather than the stock market. Alphabet and SK Hynix, in particular, are immensely profitable companies with strong balance sheets that could take on more debt at relatively low interest rates.
To be sure, Alphabet added $31 billion in long-term debt to its balance sheet in the first quarter, but ultimately raised much more using equity. Even the unprofitable SpaceX has had no challenges raising capital via the bond market. It recently issued $25 billion in debt, more than its original plan to raise $20 billion from the market, after receiving $90 billion worth of orders.
The fact that these companies are tapping their equity for cash suggests they see the stock market as willing to pay premium prices for equity right now. That's certainly true, as the equity risk premium (the difference between the earnings yield and the yield on Treasury bonds) has shrunk to nearly nothing. In other words, it may be cheaper for these businesses to give up a portion of future earnings than to take on debt at their current valuations. After all, they can retire shares through buybacks in the future when their cash needs aren't as substantial.
But everyday investors should heed the warning that these companies are sending. Stocks are expensive right now, and it's a seller's market. That doesn't mean a market crash is imminent, but it does mean investors need to carefully consider a business's long-term value creation relative to its current market price and its cost of capital.
Two hundred and fifty years after the signing of the Declaration of Independence, a new commercial from Google asks: What if the Founding Fathers had access to Google Workspace?
With the tagline “Group project, but make it 1776,” the ad depicts a largely unseen Thomas Jefferson mid-draft when he gets a nagging text from Ben Franklin, leading to a very Google-centric collaboration process. Edits are suggested in Google Docs, a meeting gets scheduled in Google Calendar and conducted remotely via Google Meet (with every single attendee apparently turning their camera off?), then the whole thing is finalized with e-signatures; cue the fireworks.
Of course, since this is an ad from a tech company in the year 2026, AI has a role to play. The fictionalized founders use Google’s “help me visualize” AI tool to try out different animals on the national seal, Gemini takes notes on the meeting, and the founders also ask the chatbot for advice before declining King George III’s document access request.
The whole thing is very tongue-in-cheek (at one point, Sam Adams asks, “Can we settle this over beers?”), and the AI evangelism is relatively discreet when compared to many other recent ads. And unlike that infamous Google commercial in which a father uses Gemini to write a fan letter for his daughter, this one shies away from any suggestion that the actual text of the Declaration of Independence would be improved with AI. Perhaps the most AI-forward element of the ad is the footage itself, which to my eye has the uncanny glow of AI-generated video.
While viewer comments on YouTube and Instagram appear to be mostly positive, you may not be surprised to learn that the response on Bluesky has been far more critical. Posters declared the commercial “cringey” and “stunningly tone deaf,” and the AI angle was the biggest target — even as many users, including historian Angus Johnston, noted that it’s “amazing how little of this is actually AI.”
“Even in a corny fantasy joke, it’s impossible to make the case that AI is a useful tool for political organizing, writing, or human collaboration,” Johnston said.
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Anthony Ha is TechCrunch’s weekend editor. Previously, he worked as a tech reporter at Adweek, a senior editor at VentureBeat, a local government reporter at the Hollister Free Lance, and vice president of content at a VC firm. He lives in New York City.
You can contact or verify outreach from Anthony by emailing [email protected].
The Dow Jones Industrial Average looks different this month. Before trading opened on June 29, Alphabet (GOOGL 0.23%) (GOOG 0.48%) took Verizon Communications' (VZ +1.37%) seat in the 30-stock index, a move S&P Dow Jones Indices framed as a way to broaden the Dow's exposure to advertising, cloud computing, and artificial intelligence. It is a milestone for a company that once seemed too big and too tech-heavy for a benchmark first built in 1896.
There is a catch for income investors, though. Alphabet pays only a token dividend, and its yield is far below that of the Dow's established payers. For readers who care about getting paid to wait, three other Dow members look like more rewarding places to put money to work in July.
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1. Honeywell Technologies bets on pure-play automation The most interesting story in the Dow this summer belongs to Honeywell Technologies (HON +3.71%). On the same day Alphabet joined the index, Honeywell completed the spinoff of its aerospace arm and reinvented itself as a focused automation company. The old conglomerate split into three separate businesses: Honeywell Technologies, Honeywell Aerospace, and Solstice Advanced Materials.
Image source: Getty Images.
What remains is a company centered on factory automation, building controls, and energy systems, which is the plumbing behind modern industry. Breakups like this can unlock value that sat hidden inside a sprawling parent, since management gains the freedom to direct capital toward the parts growing fastest. Honeywell kept its dividend through the separation, which gives patient shareholders income while the market sorts out what the leaner business is worth. The risk is real: Spinoffs bring messy accounting and a stretch of uncertainty before the pieces find their footing.
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2. Amgen pairs a rising dividend with an obesity wild card Amgen (AMGN +3.58%) does not make headlines the way flashier biotech names do, yet it has built one of healthcare's steadier dividends. The company raised its payout by 6% for 2026, extending a long run of increases that has turned it into a favorite among income seekers.
The part that could reshape the story sits in its pipeline. Amgen is running a wide set of late-stage trials for MariTide, its monthly obesity treatment, spanning weight management, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular outcomes. The obesity market is enormous, and a once-a-month injection could stand apart from the weekly options that dominate today. Nothing is a sure thing in drug development, and a trial stumble would sting, but shareholders collect a growing dividend while that bet plays out. That combination of income today and optionality tomorrow is rare in a stock this large.
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3. Chevron turns Guyana into a growth engine Chevron (CVX +2.12%) has lifted its payout for decades without interruption, and it added another 4% increase for 2026. That consistency is the draw for conservative investors, but the more overlooked development is what the company bought.
Its acquisition of Hess, completed in 2025, handed Chevron a 30% stake in Guyana's Stabroek Block, one of the largest oil discoveries of the century. Output there keeps climbing as new offshore vessels come online, giving an old energy giant a rare source of low-cost growth. Oil prices remain the obvious wild card, and a sharp drop would pressure both profits and buybacks. Even so, few dividend payers this size can point to a growth story this concrete.
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These are strong picks for July Alphabet's arrival makes the Dow more modern, but modern does not always mean better for income. Honeywell Technologies offers a fresh start as a focused operator, Amgen offers a growing dividend with real upside, and Chevron offers reliability plus a Guyana catalyst that few peers can match. For investors who want a portfolio that pays them along the way, these three look like the better buys this month. As always, spreading money across all three, rather than chasing one, is the steadier path.
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Candice Bryant says her career has been shaped by a willingness to say, "Sure, I'll try it." Candice Bryant This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Candice Bryant, who worked as an internal communications manager at Google until last October, when she left to focus on independent consulting and building AI-related products. Before Google, Bryant spent about 16 years at the Central Intelligence Agency, where her last role was in communications. She's in her early 40s and lives in the Washington, DC, area.
My whole career has really been a series of "Sure, I'll try it" moments, and it all started with an opportunity I almost passed up.
More than two decades ago, while I was pursuing a political science degree at Towson University in Maryland, there was a career fair I almost didn't attend because I didn't have any professional clothes to wear. I grew up in Baltimore, and while I didn't feel poor, I've since realized I was probably underprivileged.
My roommates convinced me to go to the career fair anyway. They told me to put on a coat and a nice pair of pants. It was winter, they reasoned, and nobody would know the difference.
At the event, I stopped by a table for the Central Intelligence Agency. I was looking for an internship, but the recruiter suggested I apply for a job. I applied for a full-time job as a political analyst and, after graduating in December 2004, started at the CIA the following month at age 21.
That chance encounter launched a career that would eventually take me from the CIA to Google and, later, entrepreneurship. Throughout my career, one of the biggest things I've learned is to always try to say yes when opportunities arise.
I spent about 16 years at the CIAOne of the biggest lessons I learned during my time at the CIA was how fragile the world can be — and how often decision-makers have to act quickly with incomplete information. My job as an analyst was to help bridge that gap.
In 2018, after more than a decade in various analyst roles, I was approached about moving into a communications role at the agency. I was drawn to the challenge of working in communications at an organization known for secrecy and to the opportunity to tell the story of the men and women who dedicate their lives to service, especially those who made the ultimate sacrifice.
Looking back, one of my biggest takeaways from the job was that my idea of a crisis or a bad day was very different from what I would later experience in the private sector.
Making the leap to GoogleThere was no push factor driving me out of the CIA. I believed in the agency's mission and was continuing to advance my career there. But I believe it's possible to have a mission-driven career in both the public and private sectors. When a former colleague reached out, and the opportunity to move to Google arose, I said yes.
I joined Google in September 2021 as an internal communications manager. Early on, much of my work was tied to the company's response to the COVID-19 pandemic, including vaccine policy and return-to-office efforts.
After that work wound down, I was asked to move to Google's Search organization, where my work focused on executive and internal communications. I joined the team during the early days of the generative AI boom, after ChatGPT launched and before Gemini was released.
I was thrilled about the move. I got to work with some brilliant engineers and help them translate their amazing work so anyone could understand it.
Why I left GoogleWhen I first started seeing Google's AI tools come online, I was mesmerized by the technology. I remember seeing capabilities like NotebookLM's ability to turn notes into a podcast and thinking, "This is going to change everything."
Even as I saw the potential of these tools, I realized that almost no one in my life was using AI yet.
Candice Bryant spent nearly two decades at the CIA before working at Google during the rise of generative AI. Candice Bryant It dawned on me that a powerful technology nobody understands or uses isn't going to transform anything. I came to believe the real gap wasn't between Silicon Valley and policymakers — it was between Silicon Valley and everyone else. I increasingly felt I could have a bigger impact helping people understand AI from outside Google than from within it.
That's why I ultimately decided to leave Google and pursue that mission independently.
Becoming an entrepreneur in my 40sIn October 2025, I left Google and began focusing full-time on my own business ventures. Leaving Google wasn't scary because I already had the confidence to make the transition. I think working at places like the CIA or Google helped me become the type of person who could succeed not just at those organizations, but beyond them.
Today, my work includes advisory projects, angel investing, a weekly AI newsletter, and building AI-related products. I think of my new venture as a solar system with multiple pieces orbiting around the same mission: making technology more accessible to everyday people. I spent more than a decade at the CIA making complex things clear for presidents, and now I do it for everyone else.
Earlier this year, I launched an app called Cello that gives users daily prompts to help them explore practical uses of AI. I already have plans for a second app.
I've learned a lot so far. One thing is that building from inside an established brand is easier than building on your own, but what you build on your own is yours. Your successes and failures are yours alone.
For anyone interested in entrepreneurship, I'd recommend building your business in public rather than waiting until everything is perfect. If everything is perfect when you launch, you've probably waited too long to share about it.
I followed opportunities, not a set career pathI've become convinced that people shouldn't feel pressured to follow a single career path or timeline. I joined the CIA in my 20s, Google in my 30s, and became an entrepreneur in my 40s.
For me, entrepreneurship feels like the right decision now, but it wouldn't necessarily have been 10 years ago, while I was at the CIA.
I don't think people should feel pressure to become entrepreneurs. There's nothing wrong with working a corporate job, and even if you're interested in entrepreneurship, it may only make sense during a certain phase of your life. Many successful entrepreneurs start their businesses in their 40s.
I've been building toward this moment for a while, perhaps starting around 2010, when my husband and I began investing in real estate and giving our future selves more freedom. The idea of entrepreneurship wasn't new to me, but it's taken a different form over time.
Just because something doesn't make sense for you today doesn't mean it won't make sense later.
Do you have a story to share? Reach out to the reporter via email at [email protected], or via Signal at jzinkula.29.
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Countries are scrambling not to fall behind in AI — and French President Emmanuel Macron and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi are leading a personal charm offensives to court tech CEOs.
The pair have ramped up moves to court leaders of the world's biggest tech companies this year, as they look to secure investment and major AI infrastructure projects.
They stand out among the countries scrambling to develop the data centers and ecosystems needed to power the tech, for their use of personal relationships.
The French President hosted AI bosses at the G7 summit in June, and personally convinced SoftBank boss Masayoshi Son to invest tens of billions of dollars into AI data centers in the country.
Modi met with Amazon's CEO Andy Jassy last Thursday, and welcomed the U.S. tech giant's "record $48 billion investment" in the country, of which $21 billion will be for AI and cloud infrastructure.
Modi last year met Microsoft chair and CEO Satya Nadella, Google CEO Sundar Pichai and Intel's CEO Lip-Bu Tan, with all of them committing to help develop India's AI ecosystem.
Macron hosts AI leadersIn May, SoftBank announced plans to build 3.1 GW of AI data centers in France by 2031, as part of a 75-billion-euro program to roll out 5 GW of AI data center capacity.
Macron requested a meeting with SoftBank's Son to persuade him to commit to the project two months earlier, and the two exchanged texts as they hashed out the details, Son told CNBC in an interview.
Macron touted France's power capacity — the country gets a large amount of its electricity from nuclear — and committed to securing the SoftBank projects 3GW instead of 2GW, the number the French premier first suggested, he added.
"His team, the government team is very supportive," Son said. "His team and our team work in collaboration very well."
Around the same time, Macron approached tech bosses to join a working lunch with world leaders, including U.S. President Donald Trump, at the G7 conference in June, which France was hosting.
CEOs including OpenAI's Sam Altman, Anthropic's Dario Amodei, Google DeepMind's Demis Hassabis all took part.
Other tech chiefs including France-based Mistral CEO Arthur Mensch, Canada's Cohere CEO Aidan Gomez, Italian company Domyn's Uljan Sharka, U.K. AI scaleup Synthesia's Victor Riparbelli and German-based Black Forest Labs' Robin Rombach were also there.
India Modi too hosted top U.S. tech leaders earlier this year at the Global AI summit in India, leading to commitments of hundreds of billions of dollars into Indian AI efforts.
"India does not see fear in AI. India sees fortune in AI. India sees the future in AI," Modi said in his opening remarks at the summit in February, urging global tech leaders to "Design and Develop in India" to deliver to the world.
Securing investments and partnerships for developing AI has been a top priority for Modi. India does not yet produce cutting-edge chips domestically, nor does it have a frontier-scale foundation model on a par with leading U.S. or Chinese models, so it is widely seen as a laggard in the AI race.
The prime minister has been encouraging global tech firms to invest in developing AI infrastructure and chips in the country.
Months before the summit, India secured Microsoft's largest investment in Asia to help build the sovereign capabilities needed for India's AI-first future, while Google announced an investment of $15 billion in India to build the firm's largest AI hub in the world outside of the U.S. To encourage hyperscalers to build AI data centers in India, Modi's government has offered long‑term tax breaks to them.
It is also encouraging local companies to develop semiconductors in the country.
During Modi's visit to the Netherlands in May, Dutch firm ASML said it would supply advanced lithography tools and solutions for the 300mm semiconductor fab being set up by Indian firm Tata Electronics. Intel's Lip-Bu Tan, who met Modi last December, also signed up as a prospective buyer for chips made by Tata Electronics.
India relies heavily on foreign AI models and computing hardware, which makes its AI ambitions vulnerable to export control directives of other countries.
The recent global AI stocks rally has completely skipped India due to the lack of any large-scale AI play, making Modi's urgency to attract capital and technology evident and all the more important.
In the artificial intelligence (AI) investing sector, there are several ways to play the trend. You can invest in legacy tech companies like Alphabet (GOOG 0.37%) (GOOGL 0.23%) that are integrating AI throughout their products, training their own AI models, and building a cloud computing network to run internal and external AI workloads. Another popular way is to pick an infrastructure play like Micron (MU 5.68%), which provides memory chips used in data center applications.
These two have been profitable investments over the past year, but which looks like the better stock pick now?
Image source: Getty Images.
Alphabet's AI gains will be longer-lived Alphabet has a wide AI strategy, and it appears to be excelling in nearly every area. Its Gemini generative AI platform is widely used and has been integrated into Google Search, offering AI search summaries for nearly every result. Alphabet also has a thriving cloud computing business that saw 63% revenue growth during Q1. All of these business units are showing strong growth, and that growth is likely to continue.
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The same cannot be said for Micron. Micron makes memory chips used in computing hardware and long-term storage devices. Demand for these is booming right now as a huge number of data centers are being built.
But what happens when the data center build-out is over? That's a question that keeps Micron investors up at night, as the memory market will look far different after the build-out is over than it does right now. While there will always be some residual demand for new and replacement computing units, it will likely never reach the peak demand we're seeing right now ever again.
So, from a long-term investing perspective (I'm talking a decade plus), Alphabet is the better stock to buy.
Winner: Alphabet
Micron's growth is jaw-dropping While Alphabet has the edge in the long term, Micron is delivering incredible results in the short term. During its latest quarter, revenue rose 346% year over year to $41.5 billion -- exceeding the $33.5 billion in guidance it gave. And next quarter, Micron expects $50 billion in revenue. To top things off, Micron's management team informed investors that it foresees memory chip demand escalating and supply constraints persisting beyond 2027.
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Alphabet is posting solid growth for its size: Its revenue rose 22% year over year in Q1 to more than $109 billion. That's strong growth for a mature business like Alphabet, but compared to Micron, it just isn't on the same level.
Winner: Micron
Comparing valuations is difficult Comparing the valuations of two companies that are growing at entirely different rates, have different long-term outlooks, and that don't operate on the same fiscal year calendar isn't easy.
Alphabet is the more traditional stock to evaluate. It has a fast, but not out-of-the-ordinary growth rate, a forward price-to-earnings ratio of 24 (pretty standard for a big tech stock), and its fiscal year is the same as the calendar year.
GOOGL PE Ratio (Forward) data by YCharts.
Micron is none of those. Its fiscal year ends in August, so using fiscal 2027 projections alongside its fiscal 2026 earnings projections is a smart move. From this perspective, Micron's stock still actually looks cheap, even after its monstrous rise this year.
MU PE Ratio (Forward 1y) data by YCharts.
But how do you value a company whose core business strengths could erode in just a few years if data center demand drops or if memory chip production increases enough to end the ongoing shortage? That's what makes understanding Micron's stock so difficult, but when a company's earnings are growing this fast and the stock looks this cheap, it's hard to ignore. With Micron's stock being so much cheaper on a projected earnings basis than Alphabet's, I'm giving it the win here.
Winner: Micron
Micron still may not be the stock for you Although Micron won this analysis, it may not be the better stock for you. As an investment, it requires close monitoring, and it faces execution risks beyond 2027. Still, I think it could have a solid run over the next few years. If you'd prefer to own an investment that has less potential for outsized gains but that also has less potential for volatility, then Alphabet remains a solid AI stock pick.
June’s jobs report was weak. That’s perhaps understating it.
In an economy of more than 300 million people, the U.S. economy was only able to eke out 57,000 jobs this past month. And on top of those numbers, revisions to prior month estimates hit investors in the face, suggesting that the consumer could be slowing at some point.
Now, for some consumer-facing companies, that’s a big deal. But for others who make their money more on the business-to-business channel, perhaps this report isn’t all that bad. Indeed, most Americans still have jobs, and the unemployment rate is low. Asset prices are high, and there’s still plenty of spending to go around.
That said, it is a concerning time in the market. So, for investors looking for some relatively insulated names to consider right now that have AI tailwinds, I thought I’d cover three behemoths with staying power and very strong moats to consider.
Meta Platforms (META) One of my top picks for more than a decade now, Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) is a company that’s identified itself as one exemplifying change. Meta has morphed from a social media juggernaut to a leader in online advertising, pushing the boundaries of the metaverse, and now an artificial intelligence giant.
I think the key in Meta’s recent surge over the past four years has been CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s focus on efficiency and improving cash flow. At the end of the day, any stock should be valued (according to the discounted cash flow model) as the sum of all future cash flows. Any company that can lower headcount (improve efficiency), use resources more effectively, and drive greater revenue will come out ahead. Meta has done that.
Now, the AI story has turned into a bit of a conundrum right now, with some in the market considering Meta’s heavy investments into AI as a potential headwind rather than a catalyst for growth. We’ll see. I think Meta is starting to turn AI into an operating advantage, not just a spending story. The company has been using AI to improve ad targeting, user engagement, and monetization across Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, which helps explain why revenue growth has stayed strong while margins remain elite.
The bull case around Meta is simple to me, and has remained in place for a long time. This is a tech giant with one of the best combinations of scale, cash generation, and product leverage in big tech, and AI enhances all three. If the economy is wobbling, advertisers may get more selective. That said, Meta’s platform efficiency can still win budget share because it gives marketers better returns on every dollar spent.
Alphabet (GOOG) Alphabet’s (NASDAQ:GOOG | GOOG Price Prediction) latest results reinforce a similar message, that AI is not hurting the business model, it is reinforcing it.
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The search giant still holds massive market share in terms of overall online advertising spend. And while some investors and analysts are pointing to the idea that AI could disrupt what’s been a truly remarkable moat for decades, this headwind hasn’t materialized to the degree many have thought.
Indeed, the company’s diversified business model is one that I think is worth considering. Aside from Google search, Alphabet is seeing incredible growth from its cloud, YouTube and AI infrastructure businesses which could support solid earnings growth for decades to come. Thus, Alphabet isn’t the one-trick pony the market initially got spooked about when we saw OpenAI release its first generative AI model.
If anything, Alphabet has embraced AI, spending ever-larger amounts on its own ambitions. However, the difference is that this spending is supported by a revenue base that remains massive and highly profitable. The key bullish point is that Alphabet can fund enormous capital expenditures without losing financial discipline, and that matters when AI infrastructure is becoming the new arms race.
Even in a sluggish economy, businesses still need search, cloud computing, and digital advertising, and Alphabet owns some of the most important choke points in all three.
Broadcom (AVGO) Last, but certainly not least, we come to Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO).
I think Broadcom may be the clearest “AI picks and shovels” story of the group. The company’s latest quarter showed just how powerful that model has become, with revenue rising nearly 48% to more than $22 billion. Indeed, the world is going to need more semiconductors over time, but perhaps not the most powerful ones. In such an environment, Broadcom could be a quiet beneficiary of a boom toward modesty in the AI sector.
There’s nothing modest around Broadcom’s recent revenue and earnings growth, though. The company saw its top line surge 143% on a year-over-year basis to more than $10 billion this past quarter. That’s breakneck growth. And with operating margins of 67% (approaching those of Nvidia), this is a dark horse many in the market are now paying attention to.
What I consider one of the most important factors, and why Broadcom is one stock I thin is worth considering adding to here, is its free cash low growth. With record free cash flow of more than $10 billion this past quarter, there’s myriad things to like about one of the top-tier chip makers in the world.
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When most investors think of Google parent Alphabet (GOOGL 0.23%)(GOOG 0.37%), they likely envision its globally dominant internet search engine (Google), ultra-popular streaming platform (YouTube), or the world's No. 3 cloud infrastructure services platform (Google Cloud). But what they may not realize is what a truly phenomenal investor Google has been.
While retail investors have seemingly tripped over each other to gain exposure to Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) (SPCX +2.83%) following its record-setting initial public offering (IPO), Google has been a stakeholder for well over 11 years. This initial investment is now worth more than the GDP of Costa Rica.
Image source: Getty Images.
Google's SpaceX stake is worth a small fortune Google initially invested $900 million into Elon Musk's space infrastructure company in January 2015, valuing SpaceX at approximately $12 billion. This gave it a roughly 7.5% stake in what's now the seventh-largest publicly traded company on Wall Street.
However, following several rounds of additional funding, designed to fuel SpaceX's satellite broadband ambitions (Starlink) and further its reusable rocket technology, Alphabet's stake in SpaceX shrank to about 4.9%.
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Though notably smaller than its initial position, a 4.9% stake in SpaceX still packs a punch. As of today, Google parent Alphabet's SpaceX shares are worth $110.3 billion. For those of you keeping score at home, this works out to a 12,156% return over 11.5 years.
It should also be noted that Alphabet holds a stake in artificial intelligence coding start-up, Cursor, which is being acquired by SpaceX for $60 billion in an all-stock transaction. Assuming Alphabet still has this stake, it could translate into even more SpaceX shares.
Image source: Getty Images.
Alphabet's investment arm is running circles around professional money managers But SpaceX represents just one of a long list of investment wins for Alphabet.
In October 2023, Google invested $2 billion in Anthropic, the company behind the Claude large language model. Less than two years later, in January 2025, Google invested an additional $1 billion in Anthropic. The most recent investment round in April 2026 saw Alphabet commit another $40 billion, with $10 billion upfront and the additional $30 billion dependent on performance milestones.
Today, Alphabet holds a roughly 14% stake in Anthropic, which could change a bit depending on whether additional investment rounds are held. However, based on Anthropic's private market valuation of $965 billion, Google's cumulative investment has ballooned to about $135.1 billion. At worst, it's 10X'd its investment, including the latest $10 billion.
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Wall Street's second-largest publicly traded company is also a major shareholder of satellite-based cellular broadband services provider AST SpaceMobile (ASTS 1.17%). During the first quarter of 2025, Alphabet acquired more than 8.9 million shares of AST. Though we don't know the exact purchase price of these shares, AST SpaceMobile spent most of the first quarter of 2025 hovering around $25 per share.
As of today, AST SpaceMobile is trading at nearly $89 per share. Alphabet has netted an estimated 250% gain on AST over 15 to 18 months, translating to a $571 million unrealized profit.
You'd struggle to find a more successful money manager on Wall Street than Alphabet.
Two Very Different Compounders Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL | GOOGL Price Prediction) and Ferrari (NYSE:RACE) both make money for investors by owning irreplaceable brands, but the mechanics could not be more different. Alphabet generates cash from an ad and cloud machine now retooled around artificial intelligence (AI). Ferrari generates cash by refusing to sell a car unless the model mix, personalization, and waitlist criteria are all satisfied.
Alphabet spent the past decade evolving from a pure search-ad giant into a diversified AI, cloud, and subscriptions business. Google Cloud revenue grew 63% year over year to $20.03 billion in Q1 2026, with backlog over $460 billion. The Gemini App hit 900 million monthly active users, and 2026 capital spending is projected to reach $180 billion to $190 billion. FY2025 revenue crossed $400 billion for the first time.
Ferrari, meanwhile, has doubled down on scarcity. CEO Benedetto Vigna’s value-over-volume playbook produced FY2025 revenue of €7.2 billion ($8.2 billion) and a 29.5% EBIT margin, with the order book stretching toward the end of 2027. The Ferrari Luce, its first full-electric car, premiered in Rome in 2026.
What $1,000 Actually Did Period GOOGL Value RACE Value S&P 500 Value 1 Year $2,020 (+102.05%) $801 (−19.85%) $1,200 (+20.04%) 5 Year $2,899 (+189.9%) $1,974 (+97.37%) $1,717 (+71.72%) 10 Year $10,225 (+922.51%) $10,208 (+920.76%) $3,548 (+254.79%) Over a decade, the two produced almost identical returns and both crushed the index. The past year is where the paths split. Alphabet roughly doubled on four consecutive EPS beats and accelerating cloud growth. Ferrari fell on a model changeover, shipments dipping to 3,436 units from 3,593, and worries about U.S. tariffs on EU cars. Holding through that gap took conviction.
The Verdict Alphabet looks compelling here if AI infrastructure spend converts into durable Cloud share and Search stays defensible as Gemini scales. At a forward P/E near 25 with 38.9% ROE, that’s a reasonable price for a business compounding at this rate. The bear case rests on whether the capital expenditures plan starts crushing free cash flow (Q1 FCF already fell 46.63% year over year) or antitrust rulings force structural remedies.
Ferrari looks attractive if the Luce launch works and the 2030 plan for about €9.0 billion revenue and a €3.5 billion buyback deliver. The risk at a forward P/E of 33 increases if tariffs bite or EV integration stumbles.
On balance, Alphabet looks like the safer, more reliable bet right now. The valuation is more forgiving, the numbers are accelerating, and Ferrari’s premium leaves less margin for error after a rough year.
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A VP of talent at Google's Wiz shares tips for getting hired at a late-stage startup By You're currently following this author! Want to unfollow? Unsubscribe via the link in your email.
Illustration by Avishek Das/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images A blockbuster acquisition, IPO, or funding round can turn a startup into a hiring magnet. It can also change what it takes to land a job there.
Earlier this year, Google completed its $32 billion acquisition of cybersecurity startup Wiz, marking the search giant's largest deal to date. Erin Gard, vice president of talent at Wiz, told Business Insider that the company has seen a significant jump in job applications since the deal was announced a little over a year ago. She also said Wiz, which has maintained its brand since the acquisition, is hiring for more than 100 open roles across sales, engineering, and field operations.
"Startups are places that a lot of people want to be in, particularly right now, so our applications are quite high," said Gard.
Early-stage startups can offer big upside before a major liquidity event or financing milestone, as Business Insider recently reported. Later-stage ventures have their own draw: more resources, greater job security, and additional room for advancement.
Stiff competition isn't the only hurdle to getting a foot in the door, though. Gard said candidates need to show they're equipped to support the company's current and next stage of growth — not the scrappy startup it used to be.
For job seekers hoping to join a mature venture like Wiz, she shared the following advice:
Tailor your pitch to the company's current stageThe skills most prized at a startup can change as quickly as the company grows. Candidates should be ready to show how their experience aligns with the business at its current stage.
When Gard started at Wiz in 2022, she said she kept tabs on candidates in a spreadsheet. Today, her job requires fluency with applicant-tracking systems that can bring order to a much larger hiring operation.
"Being able to demonstrate an understanding of the specific chapter that an organization is in is really, really helpful," Gard said. "That shows you're ready for that stage of growth, and you're going to be able to plug in and help support us where we're at."
Talk about the customer, not just the companyAt a mature startup, candidates should be careful not to frame their interest around the company's newfound status. A stronger pitch focuses on how they can help sustain its momentum and drive its next stage of growth, said Gard. They should also show they understand the specific challenges it's trying to solve and explain how their experience would help address them, she added.
Gard cited a solutions engineer candidate who, when asked "Why Wiz?," described how customers at his previous employer struggled to prioritize millions of security findings. He explained how Wiz could help solve that problem and how he would support customers in the role.
"He immediately knew the value proposition," Gard said, adding that the candidate's explanation of how customers would use Wiz in the real world "was spot on."
The candidate was hired and has since been promoted to a management role, she added.
Build relationships with insiders before a position opensJob seekers should thoughtfully engage with a startup's leaders and hiring managers on social media, such as by commenting on posts about product launches or asking insightful questions. Gard said that kind of engagement can signal genuine interest and help establish credibility before an application is submitted.
That can be true no matter what stage company you're looking to join. Jesse Dwyer, Perplexity's chief communications officer and a hiring manager, previously told Business Insider that participating on a startup's social media channels can be especially effective, since these companies often have more flexibility in how they identify and engage with applicants.
Don't focus only on successesMany candidates avoid discussing failures, said Gard, but she argued that hiring managers often favor those who can talk about setbacks, pivots, and lessons learned. Because startups inevitably make mistakes and adapt quickly, she said that candidates who demonstrate resilience and self-awareness tend to come across as more credible.
"Being able to show that you too have gone through your own journey, similar to how a startup has, resonates really, really well," said Gard. "It's something that I think a lot of people are really scared to do."
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Sarah E. Needleman You're currently following this author! Want to unfollow? Unsubscribe via the link in your email.
Sarah E. Needleman covers leadership and the workplace for Business Insider.Previously, she was a reporter for The Wall Street Journal for more than two decades, covering technology companies, entrepreneurship, and recruiting.In 2022, Sarah received an honorable mention with WSJ colleagues for their coverage of workplace misconduct at Activision Blizzard from the Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing.Sarah graduated from Rutgers University in 1997 with a bachelor's degree in journalism. She lives with her husband, daughter, and fur child (an Australian labradoodle) in northern New Jersey.Have feedback or a tip?Contact Sarah on Signal at saraheneedleman.13, or email her at [email protected] of Sarah’s scoops, exclusives, and most-read articles include: 'Entitled,' 'complacent,' and 'sloppy': Inside the workplace tension at the world's largest HR organizationShe won a religious exemption from using AI at work. The Pope's remarks could fuel similar appeals.The CEO behind 'Grand Theft Auto' doesn't drink, smoke, or play video gamesPTO, parental leave, pensions: Even the most prized benefits are on the chopping blockGoodbye, middle managers. Hello, 'player-coaches' and 'org leads.'She used to manage 3 employees. Now she oversees 24. Welcome to the age of the megamanager.America's new sink-or-swim era is hereInside the AI divide roiling video game giant Electronic ArtsMeet your new office bestie: ChatGPT
On a recent Diet TBPN segment, Jordi Hays and his co-host wandered back to December 2010, when a young neuroscientist named Demis Hassabis raised a small amount of funding for a research outfit called DeepMind. The number Jordi surfaced is the kind that makes you spit out your coffee. He said DeepMind “sold half the company at $5 million post” when it was already, in his framing, one of the most elite AI research labs on the planet.
Sixteen years later, Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL | GOOGL Price Prediction) is a $4.4 trillion company whose AI story runs directly through the lab it eventually bought. So the retrospective question the hosts kept circling is uncomfortable and fair. Did the world’s best AI lab leave a generational fortune on the table by getting into bed with Google when it did?
The $5 million number A $5 million post-money valuation in 2010 sounds like a seed round for a productivity app, not a stake in what would become AlphaGo, AlphaFold, and the intellectual spine of Google’s Gemini program. Google acquired DeepMind in 2014, reportedly for around $500 million, and the lab has since produced work that, by any measure, changed biology and gaming and shipped straight into the products powering Alphabet’s current results.
Those results are not subtle. Alphabet’s Google Cloud backlog sits at roughly $462 billion, with revenue in the segment compounding at 63%. Q1 FY2026 revenue came in at 21.8% year-over-year growth, and the stock is up 106.01% over the past year. The SEC filing behind the quarter is here. DeepMind’s fingerprints are everywhere in that number.
Did DeepMind sell too early? Jordi’s co-host said the quiet part out loud. “It seemed like they sold too early,” he offered, and you can see why. OpenAI, a peer lab that stayed independent longer, has been valued in the hundreds of billions. Anthropic just anchored a $1.8 billion, seven-year cloud deal with Akamai. The going rate for a top-tier AI lab in 2026 runs into the tens of billions.
Jordi pushed back. “Hard to say,” he said, before landing a “paper hands Pete” joke at Hassabis’s expense. The co-host then noted a piece of Silicon Valley folklore worth remembering. Back then, VCs were warning founders not to sell to Google, calling it “the bad one”. That framing has aged strangely. As the co-host allowed, “Google’s been very responsible and great, great company”.
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Why Google might have been the right call Consider the case for Hassabis. Frontier AI research eats compute the way a foundry eats coke and iron. Alphabet is guiding to $175 billion to $185 billion in capital expenditures for FY2026, the kind of number a 2014 startup could not have dreamed of raising on the open market. DeepMind inside Google got TPUs, data, distribution, and a patient owner. It also got Gemini, which is now processing 16 billion tokens per minute via API.
Would an independent DeepMind have built AlphaFold if it were burning through venture money worrying about the next round? Perhaps.
The co-host conceded the uncertainty. “Maybe there’d be another path or something,” he said. The segment also touched on Google’s Veo video models, which the co-host described as “so close and yet so far” from indistinguishable-from-reality output. That gap gets closed with compute. Compute gets bought with Google’s balance sheet.
The takeaway for anyone scrolling GOOGL on their phone is a reminder that the acquisitions that look like steals in hindsight often looked like lifelines at the time, and that the counterfactual, an independent DeepMind IPO in 2024, lives only in group chats and podcast segments like this one.
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Key Takeaways Google Cloud's expanded Jack Henry deal targets enterprise AI and cybersecurity in financial services.Alphabet said Cloud revenues jumped 63% to over $20B, with backlog exceeding $460B on AI demand.Google Cloud now makes up roughly 18% of Alphabet's revenues, up from about 14% a year ago. Alphabet’s (GOOGL - Free Report) Google Cloud business is rapidly becoming one of the most important drivers of unlocking future growth, profitability and shareholder value. The recently announced expanded partnership with Jack Henry (JKHY - Free Report) strengthens Google Cloud’s position in the fast-growing financial services AI market by expanding adoption of its enterprise AI and cybersecurity offerings among community banks and credit unions. The collaboration builds on the companies’ 2022 relationship and allows Jack Henry to use Google Cloud’s Agentic Defense portfolio, Gemini Enterprise Agent Platform and Mandiant Consulting to develop a proprietary AI-powered security platform tailored for highly regulated financial institutions.
The deal aligns with Alphabet’s broader cloud strategy outlined in its latest earnings. Management highlighted that enterprise AI solutions have become Google Cloud’s primary growth driver, with Cloud revenues surging 63% year over year to more than $20 billion and backlog exceeding $460 billion. Alphabet has emphasized that the newly launched Gemini Enterprise Agent Platform enables customers to build, orchestrate and govern AI agents securely, while its Agentic Defense offerings are seeing strong demand as enterprises seek protection against AI-driven cyber threats. The Jack Henry partnership validates this strategy by showcasing a real-world deployment that combines AI infrastructure, enterprise AI software and cybersecurity into a single industry-specific solution.
Jack Henry plans to deploy Gemini Enterprise Agent Platform to improve customer support, automate administrative tasks, enhance analytics and reporting, and streamline operations, with early users reporting productivity gains of up to 70%. This expands Google Cloud’s AI consumption across multiple workflows rather than a single application, creating opportunities for higher cloud usage and deeper customer relationships. As financial institutions accelerate AI adoption while demanding secure, compliant deployments, the partnership reinforces Alphabet’s competitive position in enterprise AI and supports continued momentum for Google Cloud's rapidly growing AI business.
Google Cloud is benefiting from Alphabet’s years of investments in AI infrastructure, custom silicon and enterprise software that are beginning to translate into substantial financial returns. Importantly, cloud growth significantly outpaced Alphabet's overall revenue growth of 22%, highlighting Cloud's increasing importance within the company's portfolio. Google Cloud now accounts for roughly 18% of Alphabet's total revenues, up from about 14% a year ago. Alphabet disclosed that the strong backlog has been driven by strong demand for enterprise AI offerings and new Tensor Processing Units (TPU)-related agreements. More than half of this backlog is expected to convert into revenues over the next 24 months. This provides investors with significant visibility into future growth and suggests that demand continues to exceed available capacity.
GOOGL Faces Tough Competition in Cloud DomainAlphabet is facing stiff competition from the likes of Microsoft (MSFT - Free Report) and Amazon (AMZN - Free Report) . 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.
Amazon generates substantial profits from Amazon Web Services (AWS), where first-quarter 2026 sales increased 28% year over year to $37.6 billion and operating income rose to $14.2 billion from $11.5 billion. AWS now has an annualized revenue run rate of $150 billion, adding $2 billion sequentially, the largest fourth-quarter to first-quarter increase in AWS history.
Microsoft capitalizes on AI business momentum and Copilot adoption alongside accelerating Azure cloud infrastructure expansion. Strong Microsoft 365 Commercial cloud demand has been propelling Productivity and Business Processes revenue growth. Azure growth guidance projects fourth quarter fiscal 2026 growth of 39-40% at constant currency, suggesting demand saturation, with customer demand exceeding available capacity.
GOOGL’s Share Price Performance, Valuation & EstimatesAlphabet shares have climbed 15.4% year to date, underperforming the broader Zacks Computer and Technology sector’s rise of 18.2%.
GOOGL Stock Lags Sector
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The GOOGL stock is trading at a premium, with a forward 12-month price/sales of 9.38X compared with the broader sector’s 6.62X. Alphabet has a Value Score of D.
GOOGL ValuationThe Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2026 earnings is pegged at $14.30 per share, up by a penny over the past 30 days, suggesting 32.3% growth from 2025’s reported figure.
Alphabet currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Looking for a stock that has been consistently beating earnings estimates and might be well positioned to keep the streak alive in its next quarterly report? Alphabet Inc. (GOOG - Free Report) , which belongs to the Zacks Internet - Services industry, could be a great candidate to consider.
When looking at the last two reports, this company has recorded a strong streak of surpassing earnings estimates. The company has topped estimates by 51.64%, on average, in the last two quarters.
For the most recent quarter, Alphabet was expected to post earnings of $2.64 per share, but it reported $5.11 per share instead, representing a surprise of 93.56%. For the previous quarter, the consensus estimate was $2.57 per share, while it actually produced $2.82 per share, a surprise of 9.73%.
Price and EPS Surprise
Thanks in part to this history, there has been a favorable change in earnings estimates for Alphabet lately. In fact, the Zacks Earnings ESP (Expected Surprise Prediction) for the stock is positive, which is a great indicator of an earnings beat, particularly when combined with its solid Zacks Rank.
Our research shows that stocks with the combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) or better produce a positive surprise nearly 70% of the time. In other words, if you have 10 stocks with this combination, the number of stocks that beat the consensus estimate could be as high as seven.
The Zacks Earnings ESP compares the Most Accurate Estimate to the Zacks Consensus Estimate for the quarter; the Most Accurate Estimate is a version of the Zacks Consensus whose definition is related to change. The idea here is that analysts revising their estimates right before an earnings release have the latest information, which could potentially be more accurate than what they and others contributing to the consensus had predicted earlier.
Alphabet currently has an Earnings ESP of +1.31%, which suggests that analysts have recently become bullish on the company's earnings prospects. This positive Earnings ESP when combined with the stock's Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) indicates that another beat is possibly around the corner.
Investors should note, however, that a negative Earnings ESP reading is not indicative of an earnings miss, but a negative value does reduce the predictive power of this metric.
Many companies end up beating the consensus EPS estimate, though this is not the only reason why their shares gain. Additionally, some stocks may remain stable even if they end up missing the consensus estimate.
Because of this, it's really important to check a company's Earnings ESP ahead of its quarterly release to increase the odds of success. Make sure to utilize our Earnings ESP Filter to uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they've reported.
Google on Thursday lost its last bid to overturn a record-breaking $4.7 billion antitrust fine from the European Union, the latest blow as overseas regulators seek to crack down on Big Tech.
The EU’s top court dismissed Google’s appeal of a 2018 European Commission ruling accusing it of anti-competitive practices, specifically attacking its promotion of Google Search and Chrome on Android devices.
“The Court of Justice dismisses the appeal brought by Google and Alphabet against that judgment of the General Court, thereby confirming the penalty imposed on them, as revised by the General Court, for their anticompetitive practices relating to the Android operating system,” the EU Court of Justice said in a statement Thursday.
Google on Thursday lost its last bid to overturn a record-breaking $4.7 billion antitrust fine. REUTERS Shares in Alphabet, which owns Google, fell 1.3%.
Google has been appealing the landmark decision, which argued the Silicon Valley tech giant abused its massive share of the smartphone market by making its apps pre-installed on Android devices.
Google has no further ability to appeal the decision, ending an eight-year-long court battle.
“Android provides more choice for everyone and supports thousands of businesses. This judgment fails to recognize our significant investment to ensure Android remains open, interoperable and free,” a Google spokesperson told The Post in a statement.
“In any event, we adapted our agreements to comply with the initial decision back in 2018 and we remain focused on continued innovation and openness for our users, partners and developers.”
Google has tried to stave off the Commission’s antitrust allegations by allowing Android users to switch between search engines and browsers, instead of being stuck with only Google apps.
Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai at a Google developers conference on May 19, 2026. Bloomberg via Getty Images But the 4.1 billion euro fine – which was lowered from an initial 4.34 billion euros – is just one of several anticompetitive complaints the EU has lodged against Google over the past decade.
The European Union last year slapped Google with a 3 billion euro, $3.45 billion, penalty for alleged self-preferencing practices in its lucrative advertising technology business.
President Trump has railed against European regulators’ attempts to reel in Big Tech, accusing the body of overreach and threatening to retaliate.
Last month, he told The Post he warned French President Emmanuel Macron to ditch a 3% tax on US tech giants including Alphabet, Amazon, Meta and Apple or face 100% tariffs on French wine.
Trump later wrote in a Truth Social post that he would impose a “100% TARIFF” on any country that hits US firms with a digital services tax – saying the new levy “will supersede Trade Deals made with the Country.”
European countries including the UK, Spain, Italy, Austria and Denmark have also adopted a digital service tax.
Growth investors focus on stocks that are seeing above-average financial growth, as this feature helps these securities garner the market's attention and deliver solid returns. However, it isn't easy to find a great growth stock.
By their very nature, these stocks carry above-average risk and volatility. Moreover, if a company's growth story is over or nearing its end, betting on it could lead to significant loss.
However, the Zacks Growth Style Score (part of the Zacks Style Scores system), which looks beyond the traditional growth attributes to analyze a company's real growth prospects, makes it pretty easy to find cutting-edge growth stocks.
Alphabet (GOOGL - Free Report) is one such stock that our proprietary system currently recommends. The company not only has a favorable Growth Score, but also carries a top Zacks Rank.
Research shows that stocks carrying the best growth features consistently beat the market. And returns are even better for stocks that possess the combination of a Growth Score of A or B and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) or 2 (Buy).
While there are numerous reasons why the stock of this internet search leader is a great growth pick right now, we have highlighted three of the most important factors below:
Earnings GrowthEarnings growth is arguably the most important factor, as stocks exhibiting exceptionally surging profit levels tend to attract the attention of most investors. For growth investors, double-digit earnings growth is highly preferable, as it is often perceived as an indication of strong prospects (and stock price gains) for the company under consideration.
While the historical EPS growth rate for Alphabet is 21.5%, investors should actually focus on the projected growth. The company's EPS is expected to grow 32.5% this year, crushing the industry average, which calls for EPS growth of 13.3%.
Cash Flow GrowthWhile cash is the lifeblood of any business, higher-than-average cash flow growth is more important and beneficial for growth-oriented companies than for mature companies. That's because, growth in cash flow enables these companies to expand their businesses without depending on expensive outside funds.
Right now, year-over-year cash flow growth for Alphabet is 32.8%, which is higher than many of its peers. In fact, the rate compares to the industry average of -5.5%.
While investors should actually consider the current cash flow growth, it's worth taking a look at the historical rate too for putting the current reading into proper perspective. The company's annualized cash flow growth rate has been 23.2% over the past 3-5 years versus the industry average of 10.7%.
Promising Earnings Estimate RevisionsBeyond the metrics outlined above, investors should consider the trend in earnings estimate revisions. A positive trend is a plus here. Empirical research shows that there is a strong correlation between trends in earnings estimate revisions and near-term stock price movements.
The current-year earnings estimates for Alphabet have been revising upward. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year has surged 0.2% over the past month.
Bottom LineAlphabet has not only earned a Growth Score of B based on a number of factors, including the ones discussed above, but it also carries a Zacks Rank #2 because of the positive earnings estimate revisions.
You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
This combination positions Alphabet well for outperformance, so growth investors may want to bet on it.
The Google logo is seen outside the company's offices in London, Britain, June 24, 2025. REUTERS/Carlos Jasso/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab
July 2 (Reuters) - Alphabet's (GOOGL.O), opens new tab Google said on Thursday it weakened a large network of internet-connected devices that was being used to hide and route malicious online activity.
The tech giant said it took action against the NetNut residential proxy network, also known as Popa, in partnership with the FBI and Lumen (LUMN.N), opens new tab, among others.
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Google said it disabled accounts and services used in NetNut-related malware command-and-control operations and shared technical intelligence on the group's infrastructure with law enforcement and industry partners to support broader enforcement efforts.
Residential proxy networks allow users to route internet traffic through consumer IP addresses, which can mask the origin of online activity and help bypass security defenses. Such networks can be used for legitimate purposes, but they are also often abused for cybercrime because they obscure the true source of traffic.
"We believe our coordinated actions have caused significant degradation to NetNut’s proxy network and its business operations, reducing the available pool of devices for the proxy operator by millions," Google said in a blog.
NetNut offers rotating residential, ISP, mobile, and datacenter proxies. It was founded in 2017 as a subsidiary of Alarum Technologies, a cybersecurity firm in Israel.
Reporting by Juby Babu in Mexico City; Editing by Tasim Zahid
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab
Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) shares traded about 1% lower on Thursday after the European Court of Justice (ECJ) upheld a €4.1 billion ($4.67 billion) antitrust fine against Google over its Android mobile operating system.
The ruling marks the end of Google's legal challenge against the European Commission's 2018 decision, which found the company had abused the dominant position of Android by using pre-installation agreements with smartphone manufacturers to favor its own apps and services.
In a statement, the ECJ said it had dismissed the appeal brought by Google and Alphabet, confirming the penalty as revised by the General Court.
"The Court of Justice dismisses the appeal brought by Google and Alphabet against that judgment of the General Court, thereby confirming the penalty imposed on them, as revised by the General Court, for their anticompetitive practices relating to the Android operating system," the court said.
The original fine of €4.34 billion was reduced to €4.1 billion by the EU's General Court in 2022. Thursday's ruling is final and leaves Google with no further avenue of appeal within the EU court system.
Google said the decision does not reflect the benefits Android has provided to users and developers.
"Android provides more choice for everyone and supports thousands of businesses. This judgment fails to recognize our significant investment to ensure Android remains open, interoperable and free," a Google spokesperson said.
The company added that it had already modified its agreements following the European Commission's original 2018 decision and remains focused on innovation and openness for users, partners, and developers.
Since the Commission's ruling, Google has introduced changes to Android in Europe, including giving users more options to choose alternative search engines and web browsers during device setup.
Here at Zacks, we offer our members many different opportunities to take full advantage of the stock market, as well as how to invest in ways that lead to long-term success.
One of our most popular services, Zacks Premium offers daily updates of the Zacks Rank and Zacks Industry Rank; full access to the Zacks #1 Rank List; Equity Research reports; and Premium stock screens like the Earnings ESP filter. All are useful tools to find what stocks to buy, what to sell, and what are today's hottest industries.
It also includes the Focus List, a long-term portfolio of top stocks that have all the elements to beat the market.
Breaking Down the Zacks Focus ListIf you could get access to a curated list of stocks to kickstart your investment portfolio, wouldn't you jump at the chance to take a peek?
That's what the Zacks Focus List offers. It's a portfolio of 50 stocks that serve as a starting point for long-term investors to build their individual portfolios. The stocks included in the list are set to outperform the market over the next 12 months.
What makes the Focus List even more helpful is that each selection is accompanied by a full Zacks Analyst Report, which explains the reasoning behind every stock's selection and why we believe it's a good pick for the long-term.
The portfolio's past performance only solidifies why investors should consider it as a starting point. For 2020, the Focus List gained 13.85% on an annualized basis compared to the S&P 500's return of 9.38%. Cumulatively, the portfolio has returned 2,519.23% while the S&P returned 854.95%. Returns are for the period of February 1, 1996 to March 31, 2021.
Focus List MethodologyWhen stocks are picked for the Focus List, it reflects our enduring reliance on the power of earnings estimate revisions.
Brokerage analysts are in charge of determining a company's growth and profitability expectations, or earnings estimates. These analysts work together with company management to evaluate all factors that may affect future earnings, like interest rates, the economy, and sector and industry optimism.
Earnings estimate revisions are very important, since investors also need to take into consideration what a company will earn in the future.
When a stock receives upward earnings estimate revisions, it will likely get even more positive changes in the future. For instance, if an analyst raised their earnings outlook last month, they'll probably do so again this month, and other analysts will follow.
Harnessing the power of earnings estimate revisions is where the Zacks Rank comes in. The Zacks Rank is a unique, proprietary stock-rating model that utilizes changes to a company's quarterly earnings expectations to help investors build a winning portfolio.
There are four main factors behind the Zacks Rank: Agreement, Magnitude, Upside, and Surprise. Each one of these features is then given a raw score that's recalculated every night and compiled into the Rank. Using this data, stocks are classified into five groups, ranging from "Strong Buy" to "Strong Sell."
The Focus List is comprised of stocks hand-picked from a long list of #1 (Strong Buy) or #2 (Buy) ranked companies, meaning that each new addition boasts a bullish earnings consensus among analysts.
It can be very profitable to buy stocks with rising earnings estimates, as stock prices respond to revisions. By adding Focus List stocks, there's a great chance you'll be getting into companies whose future earnings estimates will be raised, which can lead to price momentum.
Focus List Spotlight: Alphabet (GOOGL - Free Report) Alphabet is one of the most innovative companies in the modern technological age. Over the last few years, the company has evolved from primarily a search-engine provider to cloud computing, ad-based video and music streaming, autonomous vehicles, healthcare and others. In the online search arena, Google has a monopoly with roughly 90% of the online search volume and market. Over the years, the company has witnessed increase in search queries, resulting from ongoing growth in user adoption and usage, primarily on mobile devices, continued growth in advertiser activity, and improvements in ad formats.
On May 19, 2025, GOOGL was added to the Focus List at $166.19 per share. Shares have increased 117.35% to $361.21 since then, and the company is a #2 (Buy) on the Zacks Rank.
For fiscal 2026, five analysts revised their earnings estimate upwards in the last 60 days, and the Zacks Consensus Estimate has increased $0.3 to $14.32. GOOGL boasts an average earnings surprise of 34.4%.
Moreover, analysts are expecting GOOGL's earnings to grow 32.5% for the current fiscal year.
Reveal Winning StocksUnlock all of our powerful research, tools and analysis, including the Zacks #1 Rank List, Equity Research Reports, Zacks Earnings ESP Filter, Premium Screener and more, as part of Zacks Premium. You'll quickly identify which stocks to buy, hold and sell, and target today's hottest industries, to help improve the performance of your portfolio. Gain full access now >>
It doesn't matter your age or experience: taking full advantage of the stock market and investing with confidence are common goals for all investors. Luckily, Zacks Premium offers several different ways to do both.
The research service features daily updates of the Zacks Rank and Zacks Industry Rank, full access to the Zacks #1 Rank List, Equity Research reports, and Premium stock screens, all of which will help you become a smarter, more confident investor.
Zacks Premium includes access to the Zacks Style Scores as well.
What are the Zacks Style Scores? Developed alongside the Zacks Rank, the Zacks Style Scores are a group of complementary indicators that help investors pick stocks with the best chances of beating the market over the next 30 days.
Each stock is assigned a rating of A, B, C, D, or F based on their value, growth, and momentum characteristics. Just like in school, an A is better than a B, a B is better than a C, and so on -- that means the better the score, the better chance the stock will outperform.
The Style Scores are broken down into four categories:
Value ScoreValue investors love finding good stocks at good prices, especially before the broader market catches on to a stock's true value. Utilizing ratios like P/E, PEG, Price/Sales, Price/Cash Flow, and many other multiples, the Value Style Score identifies the most attractive and most discounted stocks.
Growth ScoreGrowth investors, on the other hand, are more concerned with a company's financial strength and health, and its future outlook. The Growth Style Score examines things like projected and historic earnings, sales, and cash flow to find stocks that will experience sustainable growth over time.
Momentum ScoreMomentum traders and investors live by the saying "the trend is your friend." This investing style is all about taking advantage of upward or downward trends in a stock's price or earnings outlook. Employing factors like one-week price change and the monthly percentage change in earnings estimates, the Momentum Style Score can indicate favorable times to build a position in high-momentum stocks.
VGM ScoreIf you want a combination of all three Style Scores, then the VGM Score will be your friend. It rates each stock on their combined weighted styles, helping you find the companies with the most attractive value, best growth forecast, and most promising momentum. It's also one of the best indicators to use with the Zacks Rank.
How Style Scores Work with the Zacks Rank The Zacks Rank is a proprietary stock-rating model that harnesses the power of earnings estimate revisions, or changes to a company's earnings expectations, to help investors build a successful portfolio.
#1 (Strong Buy) stocks have produced an unmatched +23.94% average annual return since 1988, which is more than double the S&P 500's performance over the same time frame. However, the Zacks Rank examines a ton of stocks, and there can be more than 200 companies with a Strong Buy rank, and another 600 with a #2 (Buy) rank, on any given day.
With more than 800 top-rated stocks to choose from, it can certainly feel overwhelming to pick the ones that are right for you and your investing journey.
That's where the Style Scores come in.
To have the best chance of big returns, you'll want to always consider stocks with a Zacks Rank #1 or #2 that also have Style Scores of A or B, which will give you the highest probability of success. If you're looking at stocks with a #3 (Hold) rank, it's important they have Scores of A or B as well to ensure as much upside potential as possible.
The direction of a stock's earnings estimate revisions should always be a key factor when choosing which stocks to buy, since the Scores were created to work together with the Zacks Rank.
A stock with a #4 (Sell) or #5 (Strong Sell) rating, for instance, even one with Scores of A and B, will still have a declining earnings forecast, and a greater chance its share price will fall too.
Thus, the more stocks you own with a #1 or #2 Rank and Scores of A or B, the better.
Stock to Watch: Alphabet (GOOGL - Free Report) Alphabet is one of the most innovative companies in the modern technological age. Over the last few years, the company has evolved from primarily a search-engine provider to cloud computing, ad-based video and music streaming, autonomous vehicles, healthcare and others. In the online search arena, Google has a monopoly with roughly 90% of the online search volume and market. Over the years, the company has witnessed increase in search queries, resulting from ongoing growth in user adoption and usage, primarily on mobile devices, continued growth in advertiser activity, and improvements in ad formats.
GOOGL is a #2 (Buy) on the Zacks Rank, with a VGM Score of B.
Momentum investors should take note of this Computer and Technology stock. GOOGL has a Momentum Style Score of A, and shares are up 0.6% over the past four weeks.
Five analysts revised their earnings estimate upwards in the last 60 days for fiscal 2026. The Zacks Consensus Estimate has increased $0.30 to $14.32 per share. GOOGL boasts an average earnings surprise of +34.4%.
With a solid Zacks Rank and top-tier Momentum and VGM Style Scores, GOOGL should be on investors' short list.
Washington quietly reversed course on one of the more consequential AI export restrictions of the year, and the beneficiary happens to be the one U.S. lab most aggressively courting overseas customers. Bloomberg senior strategist Neil Campling flagged the shift on July 1. He called it a green light for Anthropic’s global push at the exact moment Chinese frontier models have started closing the gap. The catch for stock pickers is that Anthropic is private, so the trade has to be built through the public names in its orbit.
The security fix that unlocked the door At the heart of the reversal is Anthropic’s newest frontier model, Fable 5, which had been walled off from foreign users over national security concerns. Campling’s read is that the company patched the specific jailbreak pathway regulators cared about. “There’s extra security, some security safeguards in place now, which will get over the national security concerns that the government previously had,” he said, describing the fix as “putting a new safeguard to make sure that it targets and blocks behavior that had allowed some users to bypass the security before.” Restrictions on Anthropic’s Mythos model were eased on June 26, so this is the second loosening in a week.
Timing is the whole story. Chinese labs have been narrowing the frontier gap in recent weeks, and Dylan Patel has noted that Anthropic will reach 2-plus gigawatts of compute this year and roughly 10 gigawatts by the end of next year, a scale advantage that only matters if the company can actually sell into non-U.S. markets. Campling is blunt. “This should certainly enable Anthropic to continue its leadership that it has in the AI frontier space.”
Why Google DeepMind is suddenly playing catch-up The more interesting piece of Campling’s commentary is about the science stack. Anthropic has been quietly building tools aimed at drug discovery and research workflows, which is the territory DeepMind has owned since AlphaFold. “DeepMind has gone from the leader and the most advanced model in this space to actually now playing catch up for the science industry,” Campling said.
That is a real problem for Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL | GOOGL Price Prediction), whose entire enterprise pitch leans on DeepMind’s science leadership.
Alphabet is not exactly limping. Google Cloud is compounding revenue at 63% with a $462 billion backlog, and the company just replaced Verizon in the Dow Jones Industrial Average. But the regulatory ledger keeps growing.
Act now: the analyst who called NVIDIA in 2010 just named his top 10 AI stocks — and Google didn't make the cut. Grab the names FREE today.
A Swedish court just ordered Google to pay $1.97 billion in damages in the PriceRunner antitrust case, and reporting has surfaced that Google is tapping MediaTek to build its Triggerfish TPU, potentially at the expense of longtime partners. Losing the science narrative on top of that would sting.
The public tickers with Anthropic exposure The cleanest way to get Anthropic exposure is through its infrastructure partners. Akamai Technologies (NASDAQ:AKAM) just landed a $1.8 billion, seven-year cloud infrastructure deal with Anthropic, and the stock surged 27% on the news. Akamai was a legacy CDN name six months ago. Now it is a diversification play for a lab that clearly does not want to be locked into any single hyperscaler.
Meanwhile, Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) is building its own AI cloud business to sell computing power and models, aimed squarely at AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud. The takeaway from Anthropic’s global clearance is that frontier AI is no longer a two-horse race between OpenAI and Google, and the cloud spend is going to fragment across more vendors than the market was pricing in a quarter ago.
What the reversal means for public shareholders Anthropic staying private means you cannot buy it directly. What you can buy is the shift Campling is describing, where AI-for-science leaks away from DeepMind and international enterprise revenue leaks toward whichever U.S. lab regulators trust to ship abroad. Prediction markets already priced a low probability (0.122) that Trump would ease AI export controls to China, so this Anthropic-specific carve-out looks like the administration’s actual policy. That is to keep the wall up against Beijing and open the gate for U.S. labs with real safeguards.
Act now: the analyst who called NVIDIA in 2010 just named his top 10 AI stocks — and Google didn't make the cut. Grab the names FREE today.
The EU's top court on Thursday upheld a record 4.1 billion euro ($4.7 billion) fine the bloc slapped on Google for anticompetitive practices related to its Android operating system.
Iren (IREN 5.27%) recently announced a new deal, but it wasn't the sort of agreement that investors could have been expecting. While its fellow AI cloud providers Nebius (NBIS 17.02%) and Cipher Mining (CIFR 6.78%) have been signing hyperscaler deals that can run for up to 15 years, Iren inked a partnership with the NBA's Golden State Warriors.
Iren is paying $50 million per year to the basketball team to display its logo patch on every jersey. It's the richest such sponsorship deal in North American sports history, and it has attracted sharp criticism from investors, but if Iren executes correctly, this deal could be a masterstroke.
Image source: Getty Images
The justified frustration On the surface, this deal looks bad. Iren closed a $3 billion convertible notes offering in May and secured $3.65 billion in GPU financing in June. It also issued $2.3 billion in convertible notes in December 2025, after selling $1 billion worth of convertible notes in October 2025.
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In other words, Iren is borrowing money at a prodigious pace. That's natural: It operates in a capital-intensive business, and it may be years before it can produce consistent profits. The company has also set up a mechanism that would allow it to conduct up to $6 billion in at-the-market equity sales, which creates a significant dilution risk to shareholders, but Iren is unlikely to tap into that full amount in one shot. It's more of a backup than a mandate, but its pattern of heavy spending and borrowing has irked some investors.
That's the context for the Golden State Warriors deal, and it explains why investors were expressing extreme displeasure with it on X and Reddit.
Starting to see the opportunity When an unprofitable company is raising capital through the sale of convertible bonds that can dilute investors, every investment that it makes is going to attract more attention and scrutiny. The Golden State Warriors deal looks particularly unwise if you assume that Iren only wants to work with hyperscalers. Data center peers Nebius and Cipher Mining didn't have to sponsor sports teams to win deals with tech giants this year. In that context, Iren's $50 million annual commitment to this type of marketing deal looks unnecessary.
An Iren logo on a Golden State Warriors jersey won't be the decisive factor that leads a company the size of Meta Platforms to think about doing business with the neocloud. However, an AI start-up founder in the Bay State whose operation needs only 10 to 20 megawatts of AI cloud infrastructure may notice the patch while watching a Warriors game and get curious. Then, that same AI start-up founder may see Iren ad placements elsewhere.
Iren can charge more per megawatt for smaller deals than it can when leasing large-scale capacity to a hyperscaler such as Meta. Those smaller companies also are likely to lack the financial strength and technical wherewithal to build their own AI data centers. Meta and other tech leaders are already building their own.
Because hyperscalers have the ability to bring more of their own AI cloud infrastructure online, they will have tremendous leverage when negotiating contract renewals with Nebius and Cipher Mining, unless the demand for AI processing power goes so parabolic that it just makes sense for them to continue working with those companies while creating more AI data centers.
If Iren works with a bunch of smaller AI companies in addition to hyperscalers, that healthy mix of deals will make it less reliant on a handful of tech leaders. Iren's press release mentioned "community investment efforts" in the Bay State, suggesting it's not just targeting hyperscalers.
Communication needs to be better This deal can be a great thing for Iren. It's similar to how Google Cloud has been a sponsor for Major League Baseball since 2020, as well as the league's official provider of cloud data and analytics services. It won that deal away from the MLB's previous partner, Amazon Web Services. So there's a precedent for cloud companies to use deals with professional sports teams and organizations as a tool to reach new customers. Alphabet (GOOG +1.30%) (GOOGL +1.11%) and MLB announced an expanded, multiyear partnership in 2022, showing that both sides have liked the arrangement.
However, Iren hasn't hinted at how its new sponsorship deal will translate into more contracts or higher revenue projections. That has left investors trying to connect the dots. Overall, it's not a good look for a growth stock that's still burning through cash without a stream of new deals.
Iren can actually run away with this opportunity. Fellow neocloud providers Nebius and Cipher Mining are in such a rush to sign huge deals that they don't have as many unsigned megawatts available to offer smaller enterprises. That leaves a narrower pool of competitors, and gives Iren more pricing power. However, for now, there are just too many questions about how this deal is meant to play out, and not enough answers. Most interested investors remain focused on when Iren's next hyperscaler deal will arrive, and are seeking progress on that point.
Communication used to be a major strength for this company; last year, it released monthly updates. Iren needs to deliver an investor presentation that outlines where all of these investments are leading, and what the company wants to do within the next five to 10 years. If it answers these lingering questions in a way that makes sense, it could get more investors on board.
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Signal Or Noise? Deciphering The Fed's New Direction.
Stock Market Skids As Trump Makes This Trade Call; Jobs Report Due Describing itself as a "technology company known for developing innovations that enable next-generation solutions for the semiconductor and media industries," Adeia (ADEA) does not make physical products or sell consumer software. Rather, its business strategy is to invent, patent and license foundational technologies. Adeia maintains long-standing relationships with global tech, semiconductor and media giants. Partners include the likes of Google-parent…
Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) had a rough week in the courts — here’s what happened.
Alphabet stock is slipping. What’s next for GOOG stock? Three Court Losses in Three DaysOn Thursday, the Court of Justice of the European Union upheld a €4.1 billion ($4.67 billion) antitrust fine against Google related to anti-competitive practices tied to the Android operating system, the EU’s largest-ever antitrust penalty against a single company. Google told Reuters it had already updated its agreements in 2018 to comply with the original decision.
The stock is still up approximately 4% over the past week despite the court losses.
Google Shares Edge LowerGOOG Price Action: At the time of publication, Google shares are trading 0.58% lower at $355.82, according to data from Benzinga Pro.
Image via Shutterstock
This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
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Intesa Sanpaolo logo is seen in this illustration taken December 3, 2025. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab
MILAN, July 2 (Reuters) - Italy's biggest bank Intesa Sanpaolo (ISP.MI), opens new tab on Thursday said it had completed the cloud migration of its core IT systems, joining a handful of European banks that have managed to move away from legacy technology.
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Replacing existing core IT infrastructure, known as mainframes, with cloud technology poses a major challenge to traditional banks.
Legacy systems, often comprising multiple software stacks accumulated over time due to mergers, put high-street banks at a disadvantage versus cloud-native, challenger banks.
Under a multi-billion-euro cloud transition project, Intesa launched cloud-based digital bank Isybank in 2023, partnering with British tech firm Thought Machine. By migrating millions of customers, it used Isybank as a testing ground for a full cloud shift.
The move places Intesa among a small number of European banks that have pursued large-scale cloud migration: Denmark's Danske Bank (DABA.CO), opens new tab, Britain's Lloyds (LLOY.L), opens new tab, HSBC (HSBA.L), opens new tab, and, within the euro zone, Spain's Santander (SAN.MC), opens new tab and BBVA (BBVA.MC), opens new tab.
Intesa, Google Cloud and TIM said in a joint statement the shift had relied on the two Italian Google Cloud regions in Turin and Milan, hosted by TIM's data centres.
"More than 800 applications were successfully migrated to Google Cloud infrastructure, and an equal number were decommissioned within the bank's physical headquarters," the companies said.
"Massive" amounts of data were transferred with "high security standards, speed, and minimum latency between cloud environments and legacy systems," they said.
"The cloud infrastructure successfully absorbed massive workload volumes, ensuring business continuity without recording any major incidents during the migration phases."
Euro zone banks' IT capabilities are a key focus for European Central Bank supervisors, who have repeatedly warned that weaknesses in legacy systems can increase operational and cyber risks.
Reporting by Valentina Za Editing by Keith Weir
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab
Key Takeaways Shipping ETFs soared as Middle East tensions disrupted global trade routes and lifted freight rates.Semiconductor and AI infrastructure ETFs surged on relentless demand for chips and data centers. South Korea, utilities and gasoline funds gained from AI momentum and energy market shocks. U.S. stocks just capped a strong first half of 2026 and a robust second quarter as semiconductor shares powered the market rally. The strength in semiconductors provided a major boost to the broader market and reinforced investor confidence in the ongoing AI-driven growth story.
Major Indexes Deliver Strong First-Half ReturnsThe Dow Jones advanced 8.9% during the first six months of the year, marking its best first-half performance since 2021, when it gained 12.7%. The S&P 500 rose 9.6%, while the Nasdaq outperformed with a gain of more than 12%.
Small-cap stocks also enjoyed a standout period. The Russell 2000 jumped nearly 22%, recording its strongest first-half performance since 1991, as quoted on CNBC.
Volatile Start Gives Way to a Strong RecoveryThe first half of the year was marked by significant volatility. Markets reached record highs despite sharp fluctuations in energy prices caused by the Iran conflict and ongoing concerns about whether AI-related spending could remain sustainable.
Inside the Iran War Following large-scale U.S.-Israel strikes on Iranian military infrastructure in February 2026, the United States and Iran engaged in months of warfare. The conflict severely disrupted global oil routes when Iran moved to block the Strait of Hormuz.
However, by mid-2026, the two nations signaled a ceasefire, bringing active hostilities to a halt and moving toward an extended period of Pakistan-mediated negotiations.
AI Bubble Concerns Doing RoundsThe AI trade has been a winning market theme, but the gains have been relatively narrow, increasing portfolio concentration risk and leaving investors more exposed to drawdowns and volatility in the technology sector.
As per a CNBC article, in June, approximately $2.3 trillion was wiped off the combined market value of the Mag 7 as investors grew increasingly concerned about the sustainability of massive AI infrastructure spending and whether the expected returns would justify the significant capital outlays.
Upbeat Earnings: Key Positive of 1H 2026Solid corporate earnings remained the key market driver. Total S&P 500 earnings are expected to increase by 23.7% in the June quarter of 2026 from the same period last year, with revenues expected to rise 11.4% year over year.
Note that investor sentiment improved considerably during the second quarter as worries surrounding the AI trade subsided and geopolitical tensions appeared to be moving toward resolution.
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq gained 14.9% and 21.4%, respectively, in Q2, delivering their strongest quarterly performances since the second quarter of 2020. The Dow climbed 12.9%, its best quarter since the final three months of 2022, as quoted on the same CNBC article.
Fed Stays Put, Hints at Hawkish Path AheadThe Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged in June for the fourth straight policy meeting, keeping the benchmark federal funds rate in the 3.50%-3.75% range. This meeting was also the first under the new Fed Chair Kevin Warsh.
While the Fed kept rates on hold, its latest projections suggest that policymakers are leaning toward keeping borrowing costs higher for longer. Several officials signaled rate hikes later this year, as quoted on Yahoo Finance.
Alphabet Joins Dow JonesAlphabet (GOOGL - Free Report) officially entered the Dow Jones Industrial Average, earning one of Wall Street's most recognizable blue-chip distinctions in June-end.The addition marks a major milestone for the Dow Jones index, shifting its focus away from traditional telecommunications toward artificial intelligence and other key tech areas (read: Alphabet Joins Dow Jones: ETF Likely to Benefit).
Winning ETF Areas in Focus Against this backdrop, below we highlight a few winning ETF areas of this year.
The Middle East conflict and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz have disrupted key shipping routes, driving a sharp surge in freight rates. This has strengthened the investment case for BWET.
The rise of AI, cloud computing, big data, data centers, the Internet of Things, 5G expansion, smartphone upgrades, and new gadgets has been fueling demand for chips and other semiconductor products.
South KoreaiShares MSCI South Korea ETF (EWY - Free Report) – Up 90.8%
South Korean stocks have seen an unprecedented rally in 2026. Driven by the global artificial intelligence boom and heavy international demand for memory chips, the tech-heavy EWY has rallied.
Utilities Tortoise AI Infrastructure ETF (TCAI - Free Report) – Up 77.7%
In 2026, the AI infrastructure market has grown far beyond foundational chipmakers to encompass memory, networking, power management, and physical data center construction.
Gasoline United States Gasoline Fund LP (UGA - Free Report) – Up 68.8%
The fund’s price surged in 2026 due to supply shocks linked to Middle East hostilities, particularly the U.S.-Iran conflict in late winter, which sent wholesale gasoline futures sharply higher. This was further augmented by the start of the summer driving season.
Google logo is seen on a building during the opening of Google new office space in Krakow, Poland on June 22, 2026. Located in Tertium Business Park building, the offICE is a second location for Google in the city. (Photo by Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
NurPhoto via Getty Images
This article was written by Doug Nathman, with research by his team at Trefis.
Behind the "AI" excitement lies the underlying narrative: a growing order book that indicates demand is surpassing the company's capabilities.
Alphabet (GOOGL) shares have exhibited outstanding performance, achieving a gain of 104% over the last year. Following such a notable increase, a crucial inquiry arises regarding what could facilitate further advancement. The straightforward answer is "AI," but that has morphed into a catchphrase. The genuine story is more detailed, more concrete, and it comes with a significant figure attached.
Where Is The Expansion Concealed? In A $462 Billion Order Book.Beyond the lofty assertions of artificial intelligence, it is beneficial to examine the foundational infrastructure. Alphabet's genuine engine of surprise currently is Google Cloud. In the most recent quarter, Cloud revenue surged to a 63% increase, surpassing $20 billion for the first time. This stands impressive by itself. Yet the real narrative lies within the backlog, the quantity of future business commitments made by customers. It nearly doubled within a single quarter, soaring to $462 billion. For reference, that exceeds the company's total revenue from the past year. This is not mere hype; it reflects a substantial backlog of signed agreements, driven by what management identifies as their "primary growth driver for cloud for the first time": enterprise AI solutions.
But Is This A Beneficial Issue Or Just A Dilemma?Despite all this growth, management made a significant acknowledgment: "we are compute constrained in the near term." They noted that "cloud revenue would have been higher had we been able to meet the demand." In essence, demand is so robust that they are unable to fulfill it all at present. This type of challenge is a dream for most companies. It affirms the exceedingly strong demand but also introduces a vital tension: the company must now enhance its capacity before this remarkable demand becomes a limiting ceiling on growth.
Why The Investment Surge Is The Bull Scenario.Alphabet's countermeasure is to expand. Rapidly. The company is projecting $180 billion to $190 billion in capital expenditures for 2026 and anticipates a "significant increase" in spending for 2027 from that point onward. This expenditure is not aimless spending. It represents a direct, calculated endeavor to develop the capacity necessary to cater to the $462 billion backlog and seize the demand that is currently being overlooked. They are laying foundations and installing servers with a clear vision of who will finance it.
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The market has valued Alphabet for its advancements in AI. However, the sheer, contractual volume of activities within Google Cloud indicates that the upcoming chapter may focus less on clever demonstrations and more on the straightforward economics of fulfilling an extraordinary influx of orders. The demand is no longer a projection; it is a reality, firmly displayed in the backlog. Investors should now observe how swiftly that capital expenditure is translated into recognized Cloud revenue.
Where Should You Look For The Next Narrative Like This?An opportunity of this nature only becomes significant once it manifests in the numbers, and the first solid indication appears in management’s guidance. Once a company can genuinely foresee the new revenue, it elevates its forecast, and an improved forecast that the market is already rewarding represents one of the clearest pieces of evidence that such a story is materializing. F5 (FFIV), Flex (FLEX), and Federal Realty Investment Trust (FRT) are currently signaling precisely that. Our Guidance Momentum screen monitors every S&P 500 entity where a rising forecast correlates with real price momentum, allowing you to seek out the next opportunity like this one while it is still in its infancy. Additionally, if you prefer to invest in the entire theme rather than wager on a single entity, a communication services ETF such as XLC encompasses the full spectrum.
Where Should A Stock Like This Reside In Your Portfolio?A compelling growth narrative is an excellent beginning. A well-organized collection of such narratives forms a strategy. An engine like this is important because it can continue to compound subtly over the years, and a stock that compounds is worthwhile to own, but focusing on any single entity is where well-conceived ideas can be penalized. A diversified assortment of equally well-researched stocks mitigates the risk associated with single-stock concentration. The challenging aspect is determining which stories truly deliver, and that ranking forms the core of the Trefis methodology.
The Trefis High Quality (HQ) Portfolio assesses the overall quality across thousands of equities, not just one catalyst, incorporates the 30 strongest stocks, and rebalances them with rigor. It has a proven record of surpassing a benchmark that merges the three major indices – the S&P 500, S&P Mid-cap, and Russell 2000.
Google will have to pay a record €4.1bn (£3.5bn) fine after it lost its fight against EU antitrust regulators.
Eight years ago, the search engine giant was handed a €4.3bn fine by the regulator for using Android to block rivals - that fine was subsequently reduced to €4.1bn on appeal.
However, when Google took the case to Europe's highest court, the Court of Justice of the European Union, the court sided with regulators.
"The appeal brought by Google and its parent company Alphabet against the judgment of the General Court is dismissed, thereby confirming the penalty imposed for Google Search's abuse of a dominant position in the context of the Android operating system," said the judges.
A Google spokesperson said the judgment failed to take into account its investment to ensure Android remains open, interoperable and free.
"In any event, we adapted our agreements to comply with the initial decision back in 2018 and we remain focused on continued innovation and openness for our users, partners and developers", Google said.
The fine was originally imposed over allegations the company had forced Android manufacturers to pre-install the Google Search app and Chrome as a condition of allowing them to offer access to its Play app store.
Google was also accused of paying manufacturers who agreed to exclusively pre-install Google Search on devices and threatening manufacturers who used different versions of Android but wanted to pre-install Google apps.
The record fine is just part of the eye-watering £11bn sum racked up by Google in EU fines over the last decades; in the last two years alone, it has been fined another €5.35bn by the EU for antitrust breaches.
The latest news is likely to antagonise US President Donald Trump, who has accused the EU of unfairly targeting American companies. Last week, he threatened "100% tariffs" on any EU country that imposed digital service taxes on US companies.
On Christmas Eve, the White House imposed visa bans on five public figures in Europe for allegedly targeting US companies operating in the region.
Listen below or on the go via Apple Podcasts and Spotify
Google’s (GOOG) (GOOGL) costly EU defeat just became permanent. (00:16) What if Americans owned part of OpenAI? (00:52) A backyard BBQ now costs nearly $20 more than it did in 2019. (01:31)
This is an abridged transcript.
Alphabet’s Google (GOOG) (GOOGL) has lost its long-running battle against the European Union.
The company will have to pay a €4.1B ($4.7B) antitrust fine after the bloc's top court upheld regulators' findings that it abused the market dominance of its Android operating system.
The European Court of Justice ruled on Thursday that Google's appeal against the European Commission's penalty should be dismissed. The decision is legally binding, marking a major victory for the regulator in a case that began when the fine was imposed in 2018.
OpenAI (OPENAI) has discussed giving a 5% stake to the U.S. government.
Sam Altman, chief executive of the ChatGPT maker, has argued that giving the public a financial stake in the company is the best way to share the upside of AI.
According to two people familiar with the talks, he has suggested a stake of this size in early conversations with the administration.
The Financial Times reported on Thursday that the proposed arrangement would involve other US AI companies handing over a similar stake, although it is not clear if the other labs would be willing to do so, the report said.
This weekend’s America 250, Independence Day celebrations will cost you more.
Data from Arbor Data Science shows the cost of a 10-person cookout rising from $54.88 in 2019 to $73.82 in 2026.
For context, the annual inflation rate averaged around 1.8% in July 2019, while more recent readings show annual inflation at approximately 4.2% in May 2026. Inflation also surged in the intervening period, remaining above 7% from December 2021 through November 2022 and peaking at 9.1% in June 2022.
According to AAA, driving to your destination is also a hit on the wallet. A year ago the average price of gas was $3.17. Today it’s $3.83. But, $3.83 is less than it was a month ago when we were paying $4.29 a gallon.
What’s Trending on Seeking Alpha
Volkswagen braces for turbulent talks ahead of critical board meeting over massive restructuring
Taiwan detains two Super Micro employees in alleged Nvidia AI server export probe - report
Nonfarm payroll growth is seen slowing but staying 'relatively strong' in June
Catalyst watch:
CrowdStrike's (CRWD) four-for-one stock split will become effective when the market opens.
Circana will release its latest report on U.S. video game sales.
US stock index futures are in mixed territory.
Crude oil is down 1.5% at $67. Bitcoin is up 1% at $60,000. Gold is up 0.8% at $4,066.
The FTSE 100 is up 0.5% and the DAX is up 0.6%.
One stock on the biggest movers list: National Beverage (FIZZ) +6% - Shares gained after the maker of LaCroix declared a special cash dividend of $3.25 per share following FY2026 results.
Economic calendar:
8:30 am Employment Situation
The U.S. stock exchanges are closed tomorrow for observance of the Independence Day holiday.
Lending support to his choice, Morgan Stanley analyst Brian Nowak, on June 30, maintained Alphabet with an Overweight rating and raised the price target from $375 to $415.
On Thursday, the European Union’s highest court upheld the €4.1 billion ($4.67 billion) antitrust fine against Google, which is owned by Alphabet, rejecting the company’s appeal over anti-competitive practices tied to the Android operating system.
Google said it updated its agreements in 2018 to comply with the original ruling and will continue focusing on innovation, while its shares slipped about 1% in premarket trading.
Don’t forget to check out our premarket coverage here
Brian Belski, founder, CEO & chief investment officer at Humilis Investment Strategies, picked Unum Group (NYSE:UNM).
Unum Group promoted Andrew Walker to executive vice president and chief customer operations officer on Wednesday.
Joseph M. Terranova, senior managing director for Virtus Investment Partners, named The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM).
On the earnings front, J.M. Smucker reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter financial results on June 9 and issued FY27 sales guidance above estimates. Also, the company issued FY27 adjusted EPS guidance with its midpoint above estimates.
Price Action Unum Group gained 2.2% to close at $91.40 on Wednesday. iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF rose 3% during the session. Alphabet shares gained 1.1% to close at $361.21 on Wednesday. J. M. Smucker shares rose 2.1% to settle at $114.86 during the session. Photo via Shutterstock
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A Google logo is seen at a company research facility in Mountain View, California, U.S., May 13, 2025. REUTERS/Carlos Barria/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab
CompaniesBRUSSELS, July 2 (Reuters) - Alphabet's (GOOGL.O), opens new tab Google on Thursday lost its fight against a record fine imposed by EU antitrust regulators eight years ago for using its Android mobile operating system to block rivals, a court ruling likely to boost Europe's crackdown on Big Tech.
The European Commission had originally handed out a €4.34 billion fine to Google in 2018 for its agreements which forced phone manufacturers to pre-install Google Search, the Chrome browser and the Google Play app store on their Android devices and prevented them from using rival Android systems.
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A lower tribunal subsequently trimmed the fine to €4.1 billion in 2022 after the world's most popular search engine challenged the EU penalty. Google then appealed to the Luxembourg-based Court of Justice of the European Union, Europe's highest.
The court sided with the EU antitrust enforcer.
"The appeal brought by Google and its parent company Alphabet against the judgment of the General Court is dismissed, thereby confirming the penalty imposed for Google Search's abuse of a dominant position in the context of the Android operating system," judges said.
A Google spokesperson said that the judgment failed to take into account its investment to ensure Android remains open, interoperable and free.
"In any event, we adapted our agreements to comply with the initial decision back in 2018 and we remain focused on continued innovation and openness for our users, partners and developers", Google said.
Google has racked up close to €11 billion in EU fines in the last decades for various antitrust infringements.
It will likely see more fines in the near future for allegedly favouring its own services and products in search results and for practices related to its app store, both of which fall under the Digital Markets Act aimed at reining in the power of Big Tech.
The case is C-738/22 P Google and Alphabet v Commission.
Reporting by Foo Yun Chee and Sudip Kar-Gupta; Editing by Louise Heavens
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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.
