Erste Group Bank Raises Earnings Estimates for Alphabet

Key Points

• Erste Group Bank slightly raised Alphabet’s FY2026 EPS forecast to $20.59 from $20.56, above the $20.51 consensus estimate, and projected FY2027 EPS of $14.99.
• Alphabet’s analyst outlook remains broadly positive, with a consensus “Buy” rating and an average price target of $415.55, despite several firms recently adjusting their targets.
• Alphabet recently reported strong quarterly results, including $9.11 EPS and $119.80 billion in revenue, while investors continue to monitor regulatory requirements, elevated AI spending, and insider selling.

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) - Analysts at Erste Group Bank raised their FY2026 earnings estimates for Alphabet in a research report issued on Friday, September 18th. Erste Group Bank analyst H. Engel now anticipates that the information services provider will post earnings per share of $20.59 for the year, up from their previous estimate of $20.56. The consensus estimate for Alphabet's current full-year earnings is $20.51 per share. Erste Group Bank also issued estimates for Alphabet's FY2027 earnings at $14.99 EPS.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Roth Capital raised their target price on Alphabet from $435.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Alphabet from $418.00 to $411.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Oppenheimer restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $400.00 price objective (down from $445.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $420.00 target price (down from $435.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a "market outperform" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $415.55.

Alphabet Price Performance

NASDAQ:GOOG opened at $344.41 on Monday. Alphabet has a one year low of $236.68 and a one year high of $404.47. The stock has a market cap of $4.21 trillion, a PE ratio of 17.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.21. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $343.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $343.02. 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 (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $9.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.87 by $6.24. The company had revenue of $119.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $116.53 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 54.77% and a return on equity of 51.32%. Alphabet's revenue was up 24.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.31 EPS.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, insider Kent Walker sold 8,998 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $349.29, for a total transaction of $3,142,911.42. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 75,290 shares in the company, valued at $26,298,044.10. This represents a 10.68% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Marsida Saraci sold 449 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of 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 position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 450,875 shares of company stock worth $11,984,482. 12.99% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Alphabet

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 0.3% in the first quarter. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10,508 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $3,094,000 after buying an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. One Charles Private Wealth Services LLC raised its holdings in Alphabet by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. One Charles Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 4,844 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $1,390,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Wisconsin Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Wisconsin Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,223 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $785,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares during the period. Financial Enhancement Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Financial Enhancement Group LLC now owns 1,323 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $380,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Johnson Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 1.7% in the second quarter. Johnson Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,842 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $651,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alphabet News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Antitrust ruling removes breakup risk: A federal judge declined to force Google to sell or separate its ad-tech businesses. Although Alphabet must share more auction data, improve interoperability, and appoint an antitrust compliance monitor, investors generally viewed the remedies as less severe than a breakup. Google should appoint antitrust compliance officer
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts see improving search and AI momentum: Evercore raised its price target to $450, citing a recovering search business and gains for Gemini against competing AI tools. Analysts also point to Google Cloud’s strong growth, a $514 billion backlog, and rising enterprise AI adoption. Alphabet stock jumps as Wall Street raises targets
• Positive Sentiment: Waymo expands internationally: Alphabet’s autonomous-driving unit plans to launch all-electric robotaxi service in Singapore by 2028, marking its first Southeast Asian market and reinforcing the longer-term value of Alphabet’s non-search businesses. Waymo to bring autonomous ride-hailing to Singapore
• Positive Sentiment: AI chips are becoming a revenue stream: Alphabet began recognizing revenue from sales of its custom AI chip systems in the second quarter. A $22 billion financing arrangement for the Crux AI TPU buildout could support further chip deployment and cloud growth. 2 Stocks to Buy as Google Starts Selling Its AI Chips
• Neutral Sentiment: Options activity signals bullish positioning: Investors purchased more than 212,000 Alphabet call options, above typical daily volume, suggesting increased speculative interest but not guaranteeing further gains.
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory oversight and AI spending remain risks: The ad-tech remedies could constrain business practices for years, while heavy AI infrastructure investment is pressuring free cash flow. California’s new AI-related executive order may also add compliance uncertainty.

About Alphabet

Alphabet Inc is a technology holding company best known as the parent company of Google. It was established in 2015 as part of a corporate restructuring intended to separate Google's core internet businesses from a collection of other ventures. Google remains Alphabet's largest business and serves users, advertisers, businesses and developers worldwide.

Google's principal products and services include its internet search engine, online advertising platforms, YouTube, Android, Chrome, Google Maps, Google Play and Google Photos.

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