FY2026 EPS Estimates for Alphabet Lifted by Erste Group Bank

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) – Stock analysts at Erste Group Bank boosted their FY2026 earnings estimates for shares of Alphabet in a report released on Monday, July 27th. Erste Group Bank analyst H. Engel now forecasts that the information services provider will post earnings of $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.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. 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 business had revenue of $119.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.31 EPS.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Pivotal Research raised their price target on Alphabet from $470.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Raymond James Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Phillip Securities upgraded shares of Alphabet from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Alphabet from $415.00 to $400.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, DA Davidson decreased their price objective on Alphabet from $375.00 to $350.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Seven investment 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $410.09.

Alphabet Stock Performance

GOOG opened at $335.76 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.64, a current ratio of 2.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Alphabet has a 12-month low of $188.70 and a 12-month high of $404.47. The business has a 50 day moving average of $357.27 and a 200-day moving average of $337.75. The stock has a market cap of $4.07 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.86, a PEG ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.23.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other Alphabet news, insider John Kent Walker sold 8,998 shares of the business’s 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 completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 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 shares were sold at an average price of $18.90, for a total value of $2,232,808.20. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 600,465 shares of company stock valued at $16,228,202. Corporate insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Auto Owners Insurance Co lifted its stake in Alphabet by 38,409.2% in the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 179,836,276 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $5,643,262,000 after purchasing an additional 179,369,280 shares during the last quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 28,482.8% in the 4th quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 112,091,870 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $35,174,429,000 after acquiring an additional 111,699,704 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at $18,093,665,000. Cardano Risk Management B.V. boosted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 850.3% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Alphabet by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 421,013,782 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $132,114,125,000 after acquiring an additional 8,128,234 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet News Roundup

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

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.