- Google DeepMind division head Koray Kavukcuoglu confirmed on September 23 that Alphabet is nearing the launch of Gemini 4, with the model in the early stages of post-training focused on performance, reliability, and complex tasks.
- Gemini has surpassed 950 million monthly users, and Search and Other revenue rose 17% year over year in Q2 as users adopted AI Overviews and AI Mode.
- Valuation views diverge sharply: one narrative puts Alphabet 70% overvalued at $343.92 with a $202.62 fair value, while Simply Wall St's discounted cash flow model shows the stock 29.1% undervalued with a $485.36 estimated value.
- The White House expanded taxpayer-funded advertisements, directing spending into Google Search and YouTube plus Meta's Facebook and Instagram; analysts project 0.5% upside to Alphabet's Q4 ad revenue guidance if the trend holds.
- Alphabet's AI economics face pressure from lower-cost competing models that push down API and enterprise-AI pricing, while data-center, compute, and AI development spending runs at elevated levels.
- Hedge fund exposure to Alphabet increased to 275 holders in Q2 from 265 in Q1, with Berkshire Hathaway raising its stake 46% to roughly $28.16 billion, and short interest stands at 1.49% of shares.
Quotes
“Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOGL) is approaching another important milestone in its artificial intelligence push.”
“A prominent narrative suggests Alphabet is 70% overvalued at its last reported price of $343.92, with a fair value of $202.62”
“Government advertising spending acts as a reliable, non-cyclical revenue floor for both platforms.”