Alphabet FY2026 EPS Estimate Increased by Erste Group Bank

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) – Equities researchers at Erste Group Bank upped their FY2026 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Alphabet in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, August 27th. Erste Group Bank analyst H. Engel now anticipates that the information services provider will post earnings of $20.56 per share for the year, up from their previous forecast of $20.50. The consensus estimate for Alphabet’s current full-year earnings is $20.50 per share. Erste Group Bank also issued estimates for Alphabet’s FY2027 earnings at $14.95 EPS.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $9.11 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.87 by $6.24. The firm had revenue of $119.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $116.53 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 51.32% and a net margin of 54.77%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 24.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.31 EPS.

Several other research analysts have also commented on the stock. Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $425.00 price objective (up from $405.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. HSBC set a $515.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Friday, August 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $420.00 price target (down from $435.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Friday, July 17th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Alphabet has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $415.55.

Alphabet Stock Performance

NASDAQ:GOOG opened at $335.41 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.10 trillion, a PE ratio of 16.85, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.23. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $347.52 and its 200 day moving average is $340.20. Alphabet has a fifty-two week low of $206.96 and a fifty-two week high of $404.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 2.64 and a current ratio of 2.72.

Institutional Trading of Alphabet

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of GOOG. Readystate Asset Management LP bought a new stake in Alphabet during the 2nd quarter valued at $45,352,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 421,013,782 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $132,114,125,000 after buying an additional 8,128,234 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 1.4% during the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 369,922,502 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $130,704,718,000 after buying an additional 5,164,200 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 187,102,863 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $58,712,878,000 after buying an additional 953,790 shares during the period. Finally, Auto Owners Insurance Co increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 38,409.2% during the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 179,836,276 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $5,643,262,000 after buying an additional 179,369,280 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $368.63, for a total value of $387,061.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 1,481 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $545,941.03. The trade was a 41.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 196,931 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.46, for a total transaction of $3,832,277.26. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 451,925 shares of company stock worth $12,371,544. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 7th will be issued a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 4th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is presently 4.42%.

Trending Headlines about Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain constructive on Alphabet’s outlook. Citizens analyst Andrew Boone expects the stock to reach a new all-time high over the next year, while recent GOOG targets have a median of $455, well above recent trading levels. Wall Street analyst sets Google price target
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet’s record cloud growth, Gemini development and expanding AI infrastructure continue to support the bullish case. Investors are debating whether the company’s large AI spending program will produce durable growth, but some analysts view the recent pullback as an opportunity. One Mag 7 stock to watch
• Positive Sentiment: Meta- and Google-backed Jio Platforms received regulatory approval for an Indian IPO, potentially creating value for Alphabet’s investment and increasing visibility into one of its strategic holdings. Jio Platforms receives IPO approval
• Neutral Sentiment: Director Frances Arnold sold 82 shares for approximately $27,700, reducing her position by only 0.43%. The small transaction is unlikely to materially change Alphabet’s investment outlook, though broader insider activity has consisted entirely of sales during the past six months. Alphabet SEC insider filing
• Negative Sentiment: Investors are increasingly concerned that Meta’s AI-powered advertising products could challenge Google Search’s advertising dominance. OpenAI’s reported $1 billion advertising run rate adds to fears that competition for digital-ad budgets is intensifying. Bernstein warns on Meta competition
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory pressure remains a major overhang. Google avoided a potential European penalty by changing search rules, while a £260 million U.K. app-store settlement adds another direct cost and highlights continuing scrutiny of its business practices. Google changes European search rules
• Negative Sentiment: Alphabet’s aggressive AI capital expenditures are raising concerns about free-cash-flow pressure and future margins, particularly as investors compare its spending strategy with Amazon’s. Alphabet and Amazon AI capital spending
• Negative Sentiment: Google Maps’ decision to display “Lake America” for U.S. users has triggered backlash in Canada, creating reputational and political risk, although the immediate financial impact appears limited. Google Maps Lake America controversy

Alphabet Company Profile

Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ: GOOG) is a multinational technology holding company headquartered in Mountain View, California. Formed in 2015 through a corporate restructuring of Google, Alphabet serves as the parent to Google LLC and a portfolio of businesses collectively known as “Other Bets.” Google was originally founded in 1998 by Larry Page and Sergey Brin; Alphabet is led by CEO Sundar Pichai, who oversees Google and the broader company while the founders remain prominent shareholders and influential figures in the company’s history.

Alphabet’s core business centers on internet search and advertising, with Google Search and the company’s ad platforms (including Google Ads and AdSense) generating the majority of revenue by connecting advertisers with consumers worldwide.