TLDR
- Google stock climbed more than 26% this month and outperformed the S&P 500 ahead of earnings.
- Alphabet will report earnings on April 29, with Wall Street expecting $2.62 in adjusted earnings per share.
- Analysts forecast quarterly revenue between $106 billion and $107 billion, up 18% to 20% year over year.
- Google Cloud revenue rose 48% year over year to $17.7 billion in the fourth quarter of 2025.
- The company reported a 55% sequential increase in cloud backlog, reaching $240 billion.
Alphabet shares (GOOGL) advanced more than 26% this month and outperformed the S&P 500. The rally placed Google stock near the top of market gainers before April 29 earnings. Analysts now focus on cloud growth, Gemini adoption, and spending plans.
Google Stock Rally Gains Pace Before Results
Google stock extended its monthly surge and beat the broader index performance. The move followed upbeat analyst revisions and steady demand across advertising and cloud services. Citi raised its price target to $405 from $390 and cited user engagement with Gemini and cloud strength. Evercore ISI analyst Mark Mahaney set a $400 target and pointed to solid demand trends. He said the company shows “continued strength in the cloud division” and stable enterprise orders.
Wall Street expects adjusted earnings per share of about $2.62 for the quarter. Analysts project revenue between $106 billion and $107 billion, up 18% to 20% year over year. The market now awaits confirmation that AI-linked services drive revenue and backlog growth.
Google Cloud revenue rose 48% year over year in the fourth quarter of 2025. The unit generated $17.7 billion, compared with 34% growth in the prior quarter. CEO Sundar Pichai said the cloud backlog increased 55% sequentially to $240 billion. He stated that demand for in-house chips and Gemini 3 models supported enterprise adoption.
Spending Plans and Fundamentals Shape Outlook
Alphabet plans capital expenditures between $175 billion and $185 billion in 2026. The figure nearly doubles 2025 spending and targets data centers and chip capacity. Management expects higher infrastructure investment to support cloud and product expansion.
Depreciation expenses rose 38% in 2025 to $21.1 billion. Rising costs may pressure operating margins even as revenue grows. The company seeks to balance infrastructure expansion with profitability targets.
Alphabet ended 2025 with $127 billion in cash and cash equivalents. The company carried $46 billion in total debt during the same period. Advertising operations continued to generate free cash flow across search and YouTube platforms.
YouTube subscriptions also contributed to recurring revenue growth during the year. The company integrates Gemini features across products to increase engagement and enterprise usage. Shares trade at more than 30 times earnings ahead of the April 29 report.
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