Jefferies Cites 5% Workforce Growth, Maintains $445 Target on Alphabet
GOOG•Jefferies analyst Brent Thill said Alphabet’s recent AI departures — including Jumper and Shazeer — reflect noise in a broader war. He cited a 194,668-strong workforce (up 5% YoY), AI integration across Search and Cloud, TPU advantages, and maintained a Buy rating with a $445 target.
1. Analyst Argues Departures Are Noise
Jefferies analyst Brent Thill downplayed departures by Nobel laureate John Jumper, Noam Shazeer and other DeepMind researchers, framing them as routine movement in a competitive AI talent market rather than a strategic setback for Alphabet.
2. Workforce Growth and Research Bench
Alphabet’s global headcount reached 194,668 in Q1 2026, a 5% year-over-year increase, underscoring its deep research bench and long history of AI development dating back over a decade.
3. AI Integration and TPU Edge
Jefferies highlighted Alphabet’s embedding of AI across its Search and Cloud services and noted the cost efficiency of its custom Tensor Processing Units as core advantages in scaling AI applications.
4. Buy Rating and $445 Price Target
Based on distribution reach—three billion users across five apps—and TPU cost leadership, Thill maintained a Buy rating on Alphabet with a $445 price target, affirming confidence in its AI-driven growth strategy.
