Alphabet (GOOGL) Stock Climbs as Analysts Praise AI Growth

Alphabet (GOOGL) stock is on the rise on Friday after several analysts raised their price forecast for the Google parent company. Experts are now praising Alphabet for its AI-driven initiatives and recent developments, raising their projections for the company’s stock. As a result, GOOGL shares are up 2% in 24 hours and 7.6% this week.

Alphabet’s Q1 2025 earnings report delivered better-than-expected numbers, which also contributed to shares climbing. For Q1, Alphabet reported earnings per share (EPS) of $2.81 on revenue of $90.2 billion. Analysts were expecting EPS of $2.01 on revenue of $89.1 billion, according to Bloomberg consensus estimates. The company reported earnings per share of $1.89 on revenue of $80.5 billion during the same period last year.

Citi analysts raised their price target to $200 from $195, pointing to growing usage and monetization of AI features in Search, including AI Overviews, which Google said has reached 1.5 billion monthly users roughly a year after launch. “We believe Google’s GenAI search tools are gaining traction,” Citi said. Bank of America and Wedbush likewise raised their price target to $200. In an investor’s note, BofA said Google “has data and distribution advantages” against rivals like ChatGPT developer OpenAI in terms of driving AI usage growth.

Morgan Stanley also raised their forecasts for Alphabet (GOOGL). Of the 19 analysts currently tracked by Visible Alpha, 14 have issued “buy” or equivalent ratings for the stock. Meanwhile, the remaining five maintain “hold” ratings. Their consensus price target near $195 suggests roughly 29% upside from Thursday’s closing price of $151. GOOGL currently sits just north of $160 at press time.

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Furthermore, Alphabet CFO Anat Ashkenazi also said during the company’s earnings call Thursday that the Google parent still plans to spend $75 billion in capital expenditures this year. Most of the spending is expected to go toward building out the company’s AI infrastructure. The investments “should help us have a more resilient organization, irrespective of macroeconomic conditions,” Ashkenazi said.

While Alphabet still faces obstacles, such as looming lawsuits and threats to sell Google Chrome, the positive earnings report reveals the tech giant is going strong. Alphabet shares have already lost nearly 20% of their value so far in 2025. The recent antitrust ruling regarding Google’s advertising monopoly also poses additional uncertainty for investors and analysts alike. Thus, there is potential that the company reverses its gains in Q2 2025.