Erste Group Bank Predicts Higher Earnings for Alphabet

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) – Stock analysts at Erste Group Bank upped their FY2026 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Alphabet in a note issued to investors on Friday, September 18th. Erste Group Bank analyst H. Engel now forecasts that the information services provider will post earnings per share of $20.59 for the year, up from their previous forecast 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.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last released its quarterly 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. Alphabet had a net margin of 54.77% and a return on equity of 51.32%. The company had revenue of $119.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $116.53 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.31 EPS. Alphabet’s revenue was up 24.2% on a year-over-year basis.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the company. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Alphabet from $455.00 to $465.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. HSBC set a $515.00 target price on Alphabet in a report on Friday, August 14th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Rosenblatt Securities initiated coverage on Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, August 20th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, Pivotal Research boosted their target price on Alphabet from $470.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Alphabet presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $419.94.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ GOOG opened at $350.87 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.64, a current ratio of 2.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.29 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.62, a PEG ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.21. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $343.09 and its 200 day simple moving average is $343.36. Alphabet has a 52-week low of $236.68 and a 52-week high of $404.47.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 196,931 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 27th. The stock was 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, Director Frances Arnold sold 112 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $351.28, for a total value of $39,343.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 18,833 shares in the company, valued at $6,615,656.24. The trade was a 0.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 450,875 shares of company stock worth $11,984,482. 12.99% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alphabet

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Premier Financial Group bought a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 2nd quarter worth about $141,000. Wellington Altus USA Inc. increased its stake in Alphabet by 0.7% in the second quarter. Wellington Altus USA Inc. now owns 4,332 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,531,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the period. Anchor Investment Management LLC raised its position in Alphabet by 11.9% in the second quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 100,052 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $35,351,000 after purchasing an additional 10,617 shares in the last quarter. Reynders McVeigh Capital Management LLC raised its position in Alphabet by 1.3% in the second quarter. Reynders McVeigh Capital Management LLC now owns 159,384 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $56,315,000 after purchasing an additional 2,108 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Alphabet by 1.3% during the second quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,541 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $898,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet’s AI infrastructure expansion gained further support through an agreement with Georgia Power to upgrade two nuclear plants, potentially adding 96 megawatts of capacity. The deal highlights efforts to secure reliable electricity for data centers. Southern Co unit signs deal with Google to add nuclear capacity
• Positive Sentiment: Google is also advancing a 50-megawatt Kairos Power demonstration reactor, with Samsung C&T selected as an engineering partner and completion targeted for 2030. Nuclear capacity could help support Alphabet’s long-term AI computing demand. Kairos Power gets up to $100M from Samsung group to build nuclear reactor for Google
• Positive Sentiment: Pre-orders opened for Googlebook laptops priced from $899 to $1,299, featuring built-in Gemini integration and Android connectivity. Investors may view the products as a new channel for monetizing Gemini and expanding Google’s hardware ecosystem. Google’s $899 Googlebook is a bet that you’ll buy a new laptop for Gemini
• Positive Sentiment: Several investment analyses remain bullish on Alphabet’s AI positioning, citing its control of chips, software, cloud services and telecom assets, a sharply expanded backlog, and expectations for continued revenue growth. Reports also point to improving Google Search performance and stronger earnings forecasts. Google: The One-Stop AI Shop
• Neutral Sentiment: Google agreed to report content flagged as child sexual abuse material directly to Indian authorities, changing its usual reporting process. The move may reduce regulatory friction but could increase scrutiny over content-moderation practices. Google to report child abuse content directly to Indian authorities
• Negative Sentiment: Ireland’s Data Protection Commission fined Google €403 million, or approximately $463 million, for mishandling users’ location data between 2018 and 2020. The penalty adds to Alphabet’s regulatory costs and privacy-related risks in Europe. Irish regulator fines Google €403 million over location data processing
• Negative Sentiment: Reports said Google disclosed only in September that a Gemini incident occurred in May involving hacking-related activity. The delayed disclosure may raise concerns about AI safety, transparency and potential reputational or legal exposure. Google just disclosed something troubling about its AI

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.