Alphabet's Q4 Report to Gauge AI Ambitions and Market Momentum

Alphabet, the parent company of Google, will release its fourth-quarter financial results this Wednesday. The report arrives at a pivotal moment for the tech giant, which saw its stock surge over 70% in the latter half of 2025 and joined the exclusive $4 trillion valuation club alongside Nvidia, Microsoft, and Apple.

Analysts, according to LSEG, anticipate earnings of $2.63 per share on revenue of $111.43 billion. Key figures under scrutiny include Google Cloud revenue, projected at $16.18 billion, and YouTube advertising, expected to reach $11.84 billion.

The earnings call will offer the first chance for executives to discuss recent strategic moves with investors. Foremost among them is a landmark agreement to integrate Google's Gemini AI models into Apple's ecosystem, including the Siri assistant, potentially reaching billions of Apple devices. This deal underscores Alphabet's aggressive push to embed its AI across the digital world.

The previous quarter saw significant technical advances, including the launch of the Gemini 3 AI models and new tensor processing unit chips. Alphabet's autonomous vehicle unit, Waymo, expanded its robotaxi service to include freeways in three U.S. cities and closed 2025 with 15 million trips served. Just this week, Waymo announced a $16 billion funding round, valuing the unit at $126 billion.

However, challenges persist. The company faces a major antitrust appeal over its search market dominance. Internally, an AI infrastructure executive noted the immense cost and effort required to double serving capacity every six months to meet demand. In December, Alphabet moved to bolster that infrastructure with a $4.75 billion acquisition of data center operator Intersect.

As the second Trump administration begins, all major tech firms are navigating a new regulatory environment. Alphabet's results will be a key indicator of whether its expensive bets on artificial intelligence and autonomous technology can sustain their remarkable market momentum.

Source: CNBC