Erste Group Bank Forecasts Increased Earnings for Alphabet

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) - Analysts at Erste Group Bank boosted their FY2026 earnings estimates for Alphabet in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, April 27th. Erste Group Bank analyst H. Engel now expects that the information services provider will earn $11.54 per share for the year, up from their previous forecast of $11.48. The consensus estimate for Alphabet's current full-year earnings is $11.53 per share. Erste Group Bank also issued estimates for Alphabet's FY2027 earnings at $13.50 EPS.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The information services provider reported $2.82 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.59 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $113.83 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $111.24 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 32.81% and a return on equity of 35.01%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 18.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.15 earnings per share.

GOOG has been the topic of several other reports. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $365.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Phillip Securities downgraded Alphabet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $375.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised Alphabet from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $351.73.

Alphabet Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOG opened at $347.50 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $4.20 trillion, a P/E ratio of 32.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 1.13. The stock's 50-day moving average is $310.00 and its 200-day moving average is $306.97. Alphabet has a 52-week low of $149.49 and a 52-week high of $350.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 2.01 and a current ratio of 2.01.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GOOG. Auto Owners Insurance Co lifted its stake in 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 worth $5,643,262,000 after purchasing an additional 179,369,280 shares during the period. J. Stern & Co. LLP lifted its stake in Alphabet by 28,482.8% during the fourth quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 112,091,870 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $35,174,429,000 after purchasing an additional 111,699,704 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth about $18,093,665,000. Cardano Risk Management B.V. raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 850.3% in the fourth quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 17,692,600 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $5,551,938,000 after acquiring an additional 15,830,754 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 421,013,782 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $132,114,125,000 after acquiring an additional 8,128,234 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 27.26% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Alphabet news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.41, for a total transaction of $318,580.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 4,631 shares in the company, valued at $1,405,091.71. This trade represents a 18.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 955 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.00, for a total transaction of $284,590.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 9,918 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,955,564. This represents a 8.78% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 2,037,294 shares of company stock valued at $94,216,897. 12.99% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Alphabet News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Erste Group raised its FY2026 and FY2027 EPS outlook (FY2026 to ~$11.54; FY2027 to ~$13.50), signaling stronger-than-expected earnings trajectory for Alphabet's AI/cloud-led growth. Erste Group estimate note
• Positive Sentiment: Ark Invest (Cathie Wood) bought roughly $14M of Alphabet shares and ARK ETFs increased exposure to top AI names, a notable institutional vote of confidence ahead of earnings. ARK buys $14M in Alphabet
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet confirmed an expanded strategic partnership with Anthropic — reports say Alphabet may invest up to $40B — which deepens AI/IP and cloud demand visibility (long-term revenue and capex monetization). Anthropic partnership/40B investment
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet signed a classified AI access agreement with the U.S. Department of Defense — a new, potentially recurring revenue stream but one that carries governance and reputational trade-offs. Pentagon AI deal (Reuters)
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet is one of four megacap AI names reporting after the close (the “Mag 7” earnings cluster). That concentration amplifies market reaction — results could either cement the AI narrative or trigger a broad tech rotation. Mag 7 earnings day preview
• Negative Sentiment: Employee backlash and earlier contract exits (Google pulled out of a $100M Pentagon drone project) highlight governance/ethics risk that can pressure sentiment and invite headlines. Drone contract exit (Blockonomi)
• Negative Sentiment: Some analysts and funds warn the rally has priced in AI upside and that Alphabet faces a high bar to beat — plus recent institutional trimming (Provident Trust / Handelsbanken disclosures) signals pockets of profit-taking. Valuation/overbought warning Provident Trust stake cut
• Negative Sentiment: EU and global regulators are turning focus to cloud and AI services, raising policy and competitive risk that could affect cloud monetization and go-to-market in key regions. EU regulatory risk (Reuters)

About Alphabet

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.

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