Erste Group Bank Forecasts Stronger Earnings for Alphabet

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) – Investment analysts at Erste Group Bank raised their FY2026 EPS estimates for Alphabet in a research note issued on Monday, July 27th. Erste Group Bank analyst H. Engel now forecasts that the information services provider will earn $20.50 per share for the year, up from their previous forecast of $14.27. The consensus estimate for Alphabet’s current full-year earnings is $20.15 per share.

GOOG has been the topic of several other research reports. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $450.00 price objective on Alphabet in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $420.00 target price (down from $435.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $379.00 target price (down from $400.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. KeyCorp set a $445.00 price target on Alphabet in a report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $475.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $410.09.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of GOOG stock opened at $335.76 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $357.27 and its 200-day moving average is $337.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.07 trillion, a PE ratio of 16.86, a PEG ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 2.64 and a current ratio of 2.72. Alphabet has a 52 week low of $188.70 and a 52 week high of $404.47.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The information services provider reported $9.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.87 by $6.24. The firm had revenue of $119.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $116.53 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 51.32% and a net margin of 54.77%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.31 earnings per share.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 196,931 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.46, for a total value of $3,832,277.26. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 8,998 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $349.29, for a total transaction of $3,142,911.42. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 75,290 shares in the company, valued at $26,298,044.10. The trade was a 10.68% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 600,465 shares of company stock worth $16,228,202. Insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Alphabet

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Gerber Kawasaki Wealth & Investment Management raised its holdings in Alphabet by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Gerber Kawasaki Wealth & Investment Management now owns 275,943 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $86,596,000 after acquiring an additional 2,850 shares in the last quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its position in Alphabet by 7.5% during the fourth quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 60,739 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $19,060,000 after purchasing an additional 4,239 shares during the last quarter. Violich Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Alphabet by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Violich Capital Management Inc. now owns 340,776 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $106,936,000 after purchasing an additional 3,378 shares in the last quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 12.1% during the 4th quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 45,014 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $14,125,000 after purchasing an additional 4,848 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Robinhood Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth approximately $20,337,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Strong operating results remain a key support. Alphabet reported $119.8 billion in quarterly revenue, up 24.2% year over year, and earnings of $9.11 per share versus the $2.87 consensus estimate. Google Cloud growth of 82% and continued advertising strength reinforce the company’s AI and cloud opportunity. Alphabet capital spending article
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support is helping offset the selloff. Phillip Securities upgraded Alphabet, while KeyCorp maintained a positive long-term earnings outlook and raised its FY2026 estimate. Wall Street’s broader consensus remains “Buy,” with targets generally above recent trading levels. Alphabet analyst upgrade
• Neutral Sentiment: AlphaFold restructuring signals a sharper AI focus. Google DeepMind disbanded the dedicated AlphaFold team and reassigned researchers to Gemini and other scientific initiatives. AlphaFold work will continue, but the move raises questions about strategic priorities while potentially accelerating Alphabet’s broader AI efforts. AlphaFold team restructuring
• Negative Sentiment: AI infrastructure spending is the dominant concern. Alphabet lifted its 2026 capital-expenditure forecast to $195 billion–$205 billion. With servers depreciated over several years and free cash flow pressured, investors are demanding clearer evidence that Cloud growth, AI products and new infrastructure will generate adequate returns.
• Negative Sentiment: Insider and institutional selling add to cautious sentiment. Chief Accounting Officer Marsida Saraci sold 449 shares, while several large funds recently reduced GOOG positions. The transactions are small relative to Alphabet’s market value and may reflect portfolio management or scheduled selling, but the lack of reported insider purchases is a modest negative signal. Alphabet insider sale

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.