5 February 2026
If you are covering Alphabet’s latest results, please see the following comment from Ben Barringer, head of technology research at Quilter Cheviot:
“Alphabet delivered a mixed set of results this quarter. Revenue came in 2% ahead of expectations with 17% year on year growth, driven primarily by two standout segments. Google Search grew 17%, showing no signs of disruption from competitors such as ChatGPT thanks to continued advances in Alphabet’s own AI capabilities. Meanwhile, Google Cloud Platform (GCP) posted an impressive 48% growth rate, 9% above expectations, and is likely to be the fastest growing of the major cloud providers. The only notable soft spot was YouTube, where 9% growth represented a 4% miss.
“Elsewhere, Gemini reached 700 million monthly active users. While not directly comparable, this puts it within reach of ChatGPT’s 800 million weekly active users, but there is still some ground to cover. Waymo’s valuation has skyrocketed since the latest funding round, rising from around $50 billion to $126 billion. While this is still relatively small fry at just 3% of Alphabet’s $3.7 trillion market cap, it is set to expand significantly in the US, UK, and Japan.
“The biggest headline from Alphabet’s results was a sharp jump in capital expenditure to $180 billion, 50% higher than the $120 billion expected and a 95% increase year on year. This signals Alphabet is going ‘all in’ on AI investment. This $180 billion compares to cash flow from operations of $165 billion last year, meaning while it is theoretically covered, it remains a huge step up in expenditure. Alphabet clearly sees value in what it’s doing , and this commitment will provide positive read-across for the likes of Broadcom, Nvidia and other memory stocks involved in the supply chain, as well as its partners in Apple and Anthropic.
“Alphabet’s stock moved around sharply in after-hours trading, and it’s clear that there’s plenty for the bulls and the bears in its results. For now, its competitor, Meta, remains the preferred pick for many investors given its faster growth and lower valuation. However, much hinges on what new models Meta and OpenAI deliver in 2026, and whether they eclipse Google Gemini.”
