Erste Group Bank Lifts Earnings Estimates for Alphabet

Key Points

• Erste Group Bank raised Alphabet’s FY2026 EPS estimate to $20.56 from $20.50 and projected FY2027 EPS of $14.95. Alphabet’s latest quarter also exceeded expectations, with $9.11 EPS and $119.80 billion in revenue.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive: Alphabet has a consensus “Buy” rating and an average price target of $420.19, supported by expected growth in Google Cloud, AI adoption and new Gemini features.
• Regulatory and legal risks remain key concerns. Alphabet faces ongoing investigations and litigation, including a reported FTC probe involving YouTube and a $353 million settlement with U.K. app developers.

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) - Investment analysts at Erste Group Bank increased their FY2026 earnings per share estimates for Alphabet in a report released on Thursday, August 27th. Erste Group Bank analyst H. Engel now expects that the information services provider will earn $20.56 per share for the year, up from their previous estimate 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.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on GOOGL. Citizens Jmp restated a "market outperform" rating and issued a $515.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Alphabet to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Pivotal Research reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $475.00 price objective (up from $470.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets set a $465.00 target price on shares of Alphabet and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-four have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $420.19.

Alphabet Stock Performance

NASDAQ:GOOGL opened at $346.59 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.24 trillion, a PE ratio of 17.41, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $349.62 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $341.86. 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 fifty-two week low of $206.20 and a fifty-two week high of $408.61.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The information services provider reported $9.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.89 by $6.22. Alphabet had a return on equity of 51.32% and a net margin of 54.77%.The company had revenue of $119.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $117.07 billion.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alphabet

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in GOOGL. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. EMC Capital Management bought a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth $33,000. IFC & Insurance Marketing Inc. bought a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth $38,000. Bard Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at $52,000. Finally, iSAM Funds UK Ltd acquired a new stake in Alphabet in the 3rd quarter valued at $53,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.03% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In related news, CAO Marsida Saraci sold 449 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $333.20, for a total transaction of $149,606.80. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 27,386 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,125,015.20. This represents a 1.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 118,138 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.90, for a total transaction of $2,232,808.20. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 451,843 shares of company stock worth $12,343,852. 11.61% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

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

Key Alphabet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Google Cloud and AI remain the main growth drivers. Rising Cloud revenue, AI adoption and a reported $514 billion backlog strengthen Alphabet’s competitive position against Microsoft and Amazon, although capacity constraints could limit near-term execution. Rising Cloud Revenue Strengthens Alphabet Against MSFT & AMZN
• Positive Sentiment: New Gemini and AI Mode features could increase user engagement and monetization. Google is expanding AI Mode to track flight prices and assist with hotel bookings, while reviews of its personal-intelligence tools suggest broader consumer adoption. Employees are also reportedly testing a next-generation Gemini Flash model. Google's AI Mode can now track flight prices, help book hotels, and more
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst sentiment and technical momentum remain favorable. Brokerages maintain an average “Buy” recommendation, while technical commentary points to support above approximately $340. Alphabet’s valuation, margins and cash generation are viewed as attractive relative to many AI peers. Alphabet Receives Average Recommendation of Buy
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet’s custom-chip strategy is creating demand for AI infrastructure. Marvell’s large Google-related AI-chip opportunity highlights Alphabet’s willingness to invest in proprietary computing capacity, potentially supporting long-term performance and reducing reliance on outside suppliers. Marvell’s Google AI-chip opportunity
• Neutral Sentiment: Google changed its European spam and site-reputation policy. The adjustment is intended to address European Commission concerns and reduce the risk of an antitrust fine, but it may affect how Google ranks publisher content and reflects ongoing regulatory pressure. Google changes spam policy in EU to avert antitrust fine
• Negative Sentiment: Legal risks continue to weigh on the investment case. Multiple law firms announced securities-fraud investigations, while Google agreed to a $353 million settlement with UK app developers. These announcements do not establish wrongdoing but could create financial and reputational costs. Google agrees to settle UK app developers’ lawsuit
• Negative Sentiment: The FTC is reportedly considering action involving YouTube. The investigation concerns account suspensions and possible consumer-protection violations, adding another regulatory overhang for Alphabet. US FTC probes YouTube over social media policies

About Alphabet

Alphabet Inc is the holding company created in 2015 to organize Google and a portfolio of businesses developing technologies beyond Google’s core internet services. Its principal operations are led by Google, which builds and operates consumer-facing products such as Google Search, YouTube, Android, Chrome, Gmail, Google Maps and Google Workspace, as well as advertising platforms (Google Ads and AdSense) that historically generate the majority of its revenue. Google also develops consumer hardware (Pixel phones, Nest smart-home devices, Chromecast) and developer and distribution platforms such as Google Play.

Beyond Google’s consumer and advertising businesses, Alphabet invests in enterprise and infrastructure offerings through Google Cloud, which provides cloud computing, data analytics and productivity services to businesses and institutions.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

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