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Apr 30, 2026 12:01 PM

Alphabet's 'Phenomenal' Quarter Powers Biggest Stock Breakout Since 2004

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) (NASDAQ:GOOG) drew largely bullish reactions from Wall Street after first-quarter results showed accelerating Search growth, a sharp Google Cloud ramp and evidence that AI investments are translating into revenue momentum.

GOOGL stock is up after earnings. See the price action here. 

Alphabet reported first-quarter revenue of $109.9 billion, up 22% year over year, with operating income of $39.7 billion and diluted EPS of $5.11. 

Analysts focused on 19% Search growth, 63% Google Cloud growth to $20 billion, a near-doubling of Cloud backlog to more than $460 billion and management's higher 2026 capex outlook.

Alphabet shares rallied almost 8% Thursday, boosting their April gains to 31.4% ― putting the stock on track for its best month since October 2004.

Analyst Reactions

Needham analyst Laura Martin maintained a Buy rating and raised the price target to $450 from $400. 

Martin said Alphabet's AI push could move the company deeper into commerce, writing: "GOOGL is Stalking AMZN's Core Business." 

She added that Google's goal is to capture the full customer journey "from discovery to purchase," which could accelerate ad revenue and open up revenue-share opportunities from product sales.

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