Analysts forecast Alphabet’s Q4 earnings to show a 20% year-over-year increase in EPS, driving profit to an estimated $2.58 per share on projected revenue of $111.48 billion. AI-powered Search is expected to contribute $61.27 billion, reflecting ongoing monetization of the Gemini model. Despite this strength, three red flags persist: rising operating costs related to AI infrastructure, potential regulatory interventions in digital advertising markets, and decelerating growth in YouTube ad revenue compared to previous quarters.

Since the start of February, four major brokerage firms have reiterated Buy ratings on Alphabet, with 12-month price targets ranging from a 6.6% retracement to a 15% rally. Goldman Sachs projects a move to 7.9% above current levels, Bank of America expects a 6.5% upside, Evercore maintains a flat target reflecting near-term consolidation, and Jefferies leads with a forecast that implies a 15% gain. This diversity of views underscores confidence in AI-driven growth balanced by concerns over valuation at roughly 30 times forward earnings.

Alphabet has expanded its cloud partnership ecosystem, signing multi-year deals to deploy Gemini models across telecom and media operators, signaling strong demand for its AI stack. The company’s collaboration with major chip vendors to enhance Blackwell-based GPU offerings strengthens its data center footprint. Additionally, Alphabet’s recent agreement to integrate Gemini into voice assistants on billions of devices highlights a pathway to incremental subscription revenue. These strategic moves support a sizable Google Cloud backlog and reinforce leadership in enterprise AI services.