In a head-to-head analysis, Alphabet’s core advertising business grew revenue by 16% year-over-year in Q3 2025 to reach $102.3 billion, while its Google Cloud division surged 34% to $15.2 billion and improved operating margins from 17% to 24%. By contrast, Meta Platforms delivered 26% revenue growth to $51.2 billion in the same quarter, driven by a 14% rise in ad impressions and a 10% increase in average ad prices. Investors value Meta at 27 times forward earnings versus Alphabet at 32 times, making Meta’s faster growth available at a discount despite its less diversified revenue mix.

Wall Street analysts forecast that Alphabet will report fourth-quarter revenue of $111.4 billion, reflecting 15.5% year-over-year growth, and earnings per share of $2.64, up 23% from Q4 2024. These estimates build on Q3 results that saw Google Cloud backlog surge 82% year-over-year and Search and YouTube advertising growing at roughly 15%. Strong performance from the newly integrated generative AI model and resilient legacy ad sales underpin bullish expectations ahead of the Feb. 4 earnings release.

Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square acquired its initial position in Alphabet in Q1 2023 at share levels between $85.6 and $108.8. As of Sept. 30 2025, the fund held 6.3 million Class C shares and 4.8 million Class A shares valued at $2.72 billion combined. By January 2026, those holdings appreciated to $3.69 billion, delivering a $2.04 billion gain—an increase of approximately 203% to 289% since purchase. Ackman trimmed 10% of the Class A stake in Q3 2025, potentially foregoing further upside as shares continued to muster new highs.

On January 21, 2026, U.S. District Judge Rita F. Lin declined to dismiss core Sherman Act Section 2 claims in a proposed class-action suit alleging that Google unlawfully foreclosed search competition through exclusive default-search agreements with device makers and browser developers. The court held that plaintiffs adequately alleged antitrust injury, noting rivals offer ad-free subscriptions and privacy-focused features but lack scale due to Google’s agreements. Claims under California’s Unfair Competition Law and unjust enrichment theories tied to user-data retention also survived, with plaintiffs granted leave to amend timing-related concealment allegations.