GOOG
Earnings day, with a side of déjà vu
Alphabet is set to report first-quarter results after Wednesday’s close, and the mood is less “surprise party” and more “let’s see if the cake is edible.” Analysts are looking for $107.03 billion in revenue and $2.67 in earnings per share, both above last year’s top line but a bit softer on the bottom line.
The AI tab keeps getting bigger
The backdrop here is the kind of spending spree that makes investors squint at the bill. Reports say Google plans to invest $10 billion in Anthropic, with another $30 billion potentially tied to milestones. That’s a lot of chips, a lot of compute, and a lot of faith that AI can turn into more than just a very expensive autocomplete.
Analysts are moving the goalposts
The Street has been busy adjusting its Alphabet models ahead of the print:
- Needham kept a Buy rating and set a $400 target
- Rosenblatt stayed Neutral with a $357 target
- BMO nudged its target up to $410 and kept Outperform
- UBS lifted its target to $375 while staying Neutral
- KeyBanc raised its target to $380 and kept Overweight
Translation: nobody thinks Alphabet is broken. The debate is whether the stock has already eaten most of the good news.
Why investors care
Alphabet is still one of the market’s biggest ad and AI bellwethers, so this report will tell you two things at once: whether the core business is still throwing off cash like a machine, and whether the company’s AI ambitions are starting to look like an earnings boost instead of a budget sinkhole.
Big picture: if Alphabet beats expectations and keeps AI spending looking strategic instead of reckless, the stock can keep pretending it’s in a different weight class.