Alphabet Inc. Class A (GOOGL)

In the second half of 2025, Alphabet's stock (GOOGL) surged 78% after a nearly 7% decline in the first six months of 2025. Strong Q3 2025 earnings were announced, with consolidated revenue reaching $102.3 billion, a 16% year-over-year increase. The Google Cloud segment demonstrated strong growth, with its backlog increasing 46% sequentially and 82% year-over-year, reaching $155 billion by the end of Q3 2025. Alphabet's progress in artificial intelligence accelerated, with its Gemini 3 model gaining significant traction. Alphabet received a favorable outcome in a Department of Justice antitrust case, allowing it to retain its Chrome and Android products and continue its partnership with Apple. Berkshire Hathaway disclosed a multi-billion-dollar stake in Alphabet during Q3 2025. On December 22, 2025, Alphabet announced an agreement to acquire Intersect to advance U.S. energy innovation. The company's capital expenditures reached $91-93 billion in 2025, with projections for further increases in 2026, primarily driven by investments in AI infrastructure.

While specific demand seasonality for all of Alphabet's products and services is not explicitly detailed, the company's significant reliance on advertising revenue suggests potential seasonality. Advertising markets often experience peaks in the fourth quarter due to holiday spending. January historically favors a short bias for GOOGL stock, however, this refers to stock performance rather than direct product or service demand.

Alphabet, Inc. (GOOGL) is a multinational technology conglomerate operating primarily in the information technology sector, focusing on search, cloud computing, media, and advertising markets. The company's core mission is to organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful, with a strong emphasis on artificial intelligence integration. Its major products and services are categorized into Google Services, Google Cloud, and Other Bets. Google Services includes widely used products such as Google Search, Ads, Android, Chrome, Gmail, Google Drive, Google Maps, Google Photos, Google Play, YouTube, and Gemini, generating revenue through digital advertising and subscription services. Google Cloud provides enterprise-level cloud computing solutions, including AI infrastructure, the Vertex AI platform, Gemini for Google Cloud, Google Workspace, cybersecurity, and data and analytics services. Other Bets encompasses Alphabet's emerging businesses and innovative products in various fields, such as self-driving cars (Waymo), biotech research (Calico), smart-home devices (Nest), venture capital (CapitalG, GV), and AI research (DeepMind), and also includes hardware products like Pixel phones and smartwatches.

Alphabet has a global geographic footprint, serving users and businesses worldwide. The company operates across multiple global markets, including North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Canada, Latin America, the Middle East, and Africa. For reporting purposes, its revenues are primarily categorized into "United States" and "International" regions.

Over the past year, Alphabet's brand reputation has been influenced by several factors. The company faced a lawsuit from the Department of Justice alleging an illegal monopoly in digital advertising, and ongoing antitrust investigations and fines in the EU continue to pose a risk to its reputation. Google has maintained a strong position in internet search and has actively integrated AI Overviews into its search engine. The rapid progress of Alphabet's Gemini 3 AI model reportedly caused competitors like OpenAI to declare a "code red," indicating Alphabet's strong standing in the AI race. The announced acquisition plans for cybersecurity company Wiz in April 2025 were seen as a move to enhance its cybersecurity offerings and potentially diversify its business. Alphabet has taken legal action against entities engaging in unlawful scraping, demonstrating its efforts to protect its data and services.

Alphabet is predominantly owned by institutional investors, who collectively hold over 60% of the company's shares. The co-founders, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, each control approximately 3% of all shares but maintain a majority of the voting power through their Class B shares. Major institutional shareholders include The Vanguard Group, BlackRock, Inc., State Street Corporation, FMR LLC (Fidelity Investments), Geode Capital Management, Llc, Morgan Stanley, T. Rowe Price Associates Inc /md/, and JPMorgan Chase & Co. The top individual owners are Larry Page, Sergey Brin, and L. John Doerr.