Valued at a massive market cap of $2.4 trillion, Alphabet Inc. (GOOG) is a technology company that provides web-based search, advertisements, maps, software applications, mobile operating systems, consumer content, enterprise solutions, commerce, and hardware products through its subsidiaries. It is expected to announce its fiscal Q4 earnings results on Tuesday, Feb. 4.
Ahead of this event, analysts expect the internet content and information provider to report a profit of $2.12 per share, up 29.3% from $1.64 per share in the year-ago quarter. The tech behemoth has a promising trajectory of consistently beating Wall Street's bottom-line estimates in the last four quarters. In Q3, GOOG’s adjusted EPS of $2.12 outpaced the forecasted figure by a significant margin of 15.9%.
For fiscal 2024, analysts expect Alphabet to report an EPS of $8.03, up 38.5% from $5.80 in fiscal 2023.
Shares of GOOG have rallied 34.3% over the past 52 weeks, outpacing both the S&P 500 Index's ($SPX) 21.8% rise and the Communication Services Select Sector SPDR ETF Fund’s (XLC) 30% return over the same time frame.
Alphabet's shares surged 2.9% after delivering better-than-expected Q3 net income of $2.12 per share and revenues of $88.3 billion on Oct. 29. Along with this, the company’s top-line figure grew 15% from the year-ago quarter, thanks to robust growth in its cloud revenues, core advertising business revenues, and long-term focus and investment in AI. Moreover, GOOG’s ongoing efforts to improve efficiency helped deliver improved margins, which led to a notable 34% year-over-year boost in its bottom-line figure.
Wall Street analysts are strongly optimistic about GOOG’s stock, with a "Strong Buy" rating overall. Among 50 analysts covering the stock, 39 recommend "Strong Buy," three indicate “Moderate Buy,” and eight suggest “Hold.” This configuration is slightly more bullish than three months ago, with 38 analysts suggesting a “Strong Buy.”
The mean price target for Alphabet is $212.90, which indicates a modest 10.2% potential upside from the current levels.
