Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Stock Price Down 12.6% After Earnings Miss

Posted by Brian Himes on Oct 29th, 2026

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL – Get Free Report) was down 12.6% during trading on Thursday following a weaker than expected earnings announcement. The stock traded as low as $280.36 and last traded at $283.82. Approximately 136,917,537 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 342% from the average session volume of 30,960,965 shares. The stock had previously closed at $324.89.

The information services provider reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.02 by ($0.90). Alphabet had a net margin of 54.77% and a return on equity of 51.32%. The company had revenue of $127.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $127.96 billion.

Key Alphabet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

Positive Sentiment: Google Cloud delivered exceptional growth. Third-quarter Cloud revenue more than doubled to approximately $30.7 billion, while profit roughly tripled and backlog reached $561 billion, reinforcing Alphabet’s position in AI infrastructure and cloud services. Alphabet’s Cloud Business Just Doubled
Positive Sentiment: Search demand remains resilient. Search query growth reached its highest year-over-year rate in five years, and Alphabet is expanding AI-generated search advertising internationally to create new monetization opportunities. Alphabet: 3 Key Takeaways for Long-Term Investors
Positive Sentiment: Alphabet’s AI ecosystem is gaining commercial traction. OpenAI reportedly plans to use Google’s custom TPU chips, while Alphabet continues expanding Gemini and other AI products. Several analysts retained positive ratings despite reducing price targets.
Neutral Sentiment: Analyst views remain divided. Firms including DA Davidson and Citizens JMP lowered ratings or targets, but Wedbush, KeyCorp, Susquehanna, Guggenheim and Needham maintained bullish or positive stances, citing Cloud growth and Alphabet’s valuation.
Negative Sentiment: Third-quarter earnings missed expectations. Adjusted EPS was $2.12 versus roughly $3.02 expected, and revenue of $127.6 billion was slightly below forecasts. YouTube advertising revenue also missed estimates, increasing concerns about slowing monetization. GOOGL Q3 Earnings Miss Estimates
Negative Sentiment: AI investment is weighing on cash flow. Alphabet spent heavily on data centers, cloud capacity and AI development; free cash flow fell approximately $9.1 billion into negative territory. Investors are questioning whether the rapid capital-expenditure increase will generate adequate returns. Alphabet falls after earnings
Negative Sentiment: Core search risks are becoming more prominent. Search and other revenue grew 12% but came in below expectations for a second consecutive quarter. Investors fear AI assistants and agents could divert searches or produce lower-value advertising than traditional search.
Negative Sentiment: Non-operating losses amplified the earnings shortfall. An unrealized loss on Alphabet’s SpaceX investment and an EU antitrust fine reduced reported profit, obscuring otherwise strong operating growth.
Negative Sentiment: Additional overhangs include execution and regulatory concerns. Alphabet’s workforce reached nearly 205,000 employees, while new lawsuits, a Finnish environmental investigation and app-store penalties add legal and cost risks.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $480.00 target price (up from $465.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Tuesday, October 20th. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $450.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, September 16th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $450.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $405.00 price objective (down from $425.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday. Finally, Moffett Nathanson set a $345.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-six have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $412.82.

View Our Latest Report on Alphabet

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In related news, Director Frances Arnold sold 83 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $340.45, for a total value of $28,257.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 19,076 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,494,424.20. This represents a 0.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 11.61% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alphabet

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 6.0% in the first quarter. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 477 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $137,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the period. Rockbridge Investment Management LCC raised its stake in Alphabet by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Rockbridge Investment Management LCC now owns 5,460 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,570,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the period. Ruggaard & Associates LLC lifted its position in Alphabet by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Ruggaard & Associates LLC now owns 2,921 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $840,000 after buying an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Cadia Private Client LLC grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Cadia Private Client LLC now owns 2,589 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $744,000 after buying an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Evansbrook LLC boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 0.3% in the first quarter. Evansbrook LLC now owns 9,522 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $2,738,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $3.47 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a current ratio of 2.72, a quick ratio of 2.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $341.50 and a 200 day moving average price of $340.66.

Alphabet Company Profile

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Alphabet Inc is a technology holding company best known for its Google subsidiary. Google operates a global internet-services business centered on online search, digital advertising, YouTube, Android, Chrome, Google Maps, Google Play, and a broad range of cloud-based productivity and collaboration tools.

Google Cloud provides infrastructure, data analytics, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, and enterprise software services to businesses, governments, and other organizations. Alphabet also develops consumer hardware, including Pixel devices and products for connected homes, while investing in emerging businesses through its “Other Bets” segment, including autonomous transportation and life sciences initiatives.

Alphabet was established in 2015 as part of a corporate restructuring that made Google a subsidiary and provided a separate structure for its expanding portfolio of businesses.