Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) Posts Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $6.24 EPS

Posted by Brian Himes on Jul 24th, 2026

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG – Get Free Report) issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The information services provider reported $9.11 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.87 by $6.24, FiscalAI reports. The business had revenue of $119.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $116.53 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 54.77% and a return on equity of 57.20%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 24.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.31 earnings per share.

Here are the key takeaways from Alphabet’s conference call:

Alphabet reported Q2 revenue of $119.8 billion, up 24% year over year, with operating income rising 30% to $40.8 billion and a 34% operating margin. Management highlighted this as the company’s 12th consecutive quarter of double-digit revenue growth.
Google Cloud was the standout growth engine, with revenue up 82% to $24.8 billion and operating income more than tripling to $8.8 billion. Cloud backlog also surged to $514 billion, reflecting strong demand for AI infrastructure and enterprise AI products.
Alphabet said AI is driving stronger Search and YouTube engagement, with Search and other revenue up 17% and YouTube ads up 13%. Management said AI Overviews and AI Mode are increasing queries and sending billions of clicks to websites each week.
The company emphasized rapid adoption of its Gemini ecosystem, including 950 million monthly active users for the Gemini app, over 9 million developers building monthly, and roughly 22 billion tokens processed per minute through its APIs. It also said nearly 90% of Fortune 100 companies are using Gemini Enterprise.
Alphabet raised its 2026 CapEx guidance to $195 billion-$205 billion from $180 billion-$190 billion, citing the need to accelerate capacity buildout amid supply constraints. Management also said free cash flow will remain under pressure and that near-term Cloud margins may face modest headwinds from third-party capacity and infrastructure spending.

Alphabet Stock Up 0.5%

GOOG stock traded up $1.74 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $320.08. The company had a trading volume of 7,873,285 shares, compared to its average volume of 21,496,375. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.92 and a quick ratio of 1.92. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $362.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $337.51. The company has a market capitalization of $3.88 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.08, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.23. Alphabet has a 52 week low of $188.70 and a 52 week high of $404.47.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 7th will be paid a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 4th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 6.71%.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other news, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 87,475 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.75, for a total transaction of $2,077,531.25. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $368.63, for a total transaction of $387,061.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 1,481 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $545,941.03. This represents a 41.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 159,415 shares of company stock worth $7,672,279. Insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Alphabet by 7.7% during the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 21,545 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $6,761,000 after purchasing an additional 1,534 shares during the last quarter. Beartown Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth approximately $322,000. Creek Drive Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth approximately $7,045,000. Strive Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at $11,792,000. Finally, Blue Sparrow LLC DE acquired a new position in Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at $97,278,000. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Headlines Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

Positive Sentiment: Alphabet posted blockbuster Q2 results, with revenue up 24% to $119.8 billion and EPS of $9.11, both well ahead of estimates, showing core business momentum remains strong.
Positive Sentiment: Google Cloud revenue surged 82% year over year, reinforcing the view that enterprise AI demand is translating into real growth and profitability.
Positive Sentiment: YouTube ad sales hit a record $11.06 billion, while Gemini usage reportedly climbed to 950 million monthly users, signaling continued strength in Alphabet’s consumer and AI platforms.
Positive Sentiment: Several analysts reiterated bullish views and price targets after earnings, and one fund disclosure showed Apollo / institutional investors adding to GOOG positions, suggesting some investors still see upside.
Neutral Sentiment: Verizon signed a more than $1 billion deal with Google for dark fiber connectivity, a positive long-term infrastructure sign but not a near-term earnings driver.
Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet also disclosed a large $94 billion SpaceX equity stake, which highlights hidden balance-sheet value, though the position is largely locked up and not immediately monetizable.
Negative Sentiment: Investor concern over AI spending is the main drag: Alphabet raised 2026 capex guidance to $195 billion–$205 billion, and free cash flow turned negative for the first time, raising questions about near-term cash returns.
Negative Sentiment: Alphabet’s long-running buyback pattern appears to be slowing, which removes a key source of support for the stock.
Negative Sentiment: Regulatory and legal overhangs also weighed on sentiment, including a roughly $1 billion EU antitrust fine and new securities-fraud investigation headlines.
Negative Sentiment: Some institutional disclosures showed notable trimming of GOOG/GOOGL holdings, and insiders continue to show only sales, which may add to cautious investor sentiment.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GOOG has been the subject of a number of research reports. Raymond James Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Alphabet from $418.00 to $411.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $475.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday. Scotiabank reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $450.00 target price (up from $400.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Citigroup restated a “market outperform” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Alphabet presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $410.09.

Read Our Latest Report on Alphabet

About Alphabet

(Get Free Report)

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.