Alphabet Inc. GOOG
- Market cap
- $4.2T
- PE
- 17.4×
- 10y median 28.1×
- Forward PE
- Price to sales
- 9.5×
- EV/EBIT
- 27.8×
- Revenue, 12 months
- $445.9B
- +20% on a year ago
- Net margin
- 54.8%
- Free cash flow yield
- 1.3%
The low PE is built on paper gains
Reported earnings more than doubled in a year, mostly on investment gains. On expected earnings it trades near its usual multiple.
On reported earnings it looks cheap
The price is 17.3 times the earnings per share Alphabet reported over the last year. That is cheaper than 98% of the last ten years and well below the peer median of 30.2. The low on this chart, 16.0, came in July 2026, when reported earnings jumped. The next steps show why that jump flatters the number.
Earnings more than tripled, mostly on paper gains
Reported earnings per share over the last twelve months went from 5.80 at the end of 2023 to 19.91. Most of the rise came in 2026 from gains on stakes in other companies. Alphabet says those added 6.26 a share in the June quarter alone. Taking such one-off items out, adjusted earnings are 11.25. Analysts expect 13.49 on that basis over the next twelve months.
Most of the margin jump came from outside the business
Operating margin, the share of sales the business itself keeps, rose from 26 percent to 33.1. Net margin went from 21 to 54.8. Net profit above operating profit has to come from outside the business, here gains on investments. Over the last year net income was 244 billion on 446 billion of sales. The operating gain is real. The investment gains may not repeat.
Cloud is where the growth is speeding up
Sales over the last twelve months rose from 307 billion at the end of 2023 to 446 billion. Growth sped up from 13 percent a year in mid 2025 to 20 percent. Google Cloud led it, up 82 percent in the June quarter to 24.8 billion. Bulls read that as the AI spending starting to pay. Consensus has sales up about 24 percent over the next twelve months.
Investors now pay 25.5 times expected earnings, up from 15.6
Market value rose from 1.76 trillion to 4.21 trillion dollars in three years. At 25.5 times the earnings analysts expect over the next twelve months, it sits above its ten year median of 24.7 and below the peer median of 27.2. The low here, 15.6, came in May 2025, when Apple said Safari searches had fallen. Forward PE before September 2026 is rebuilt with hindsight.
The cash is going into data centers
Price to free cash flow is 79.1, against a three year median of 34.5. Trailing free cash flow fell from 73.6 billion in September 2025 to 53.3 billion as capital spending hit 132 billion, and Alphabet has pledged 13 billion euros more for Finnish data centers. The October 28 report, where consensus is 127.3 billion of sales and 3.05 a share, shows whether Cloud keeps pace with the spending.
What has happened lately
- U.S. Department of Justice, Court orders behavioral remedies against Google in the Justice Department ad tech caseThe ruling requires interoperability with rival bidding tools, lets publishers export their data and adds six years of monitoring, but orders no divestiture.
- Google, Google commits €13 billion to Finnish AI data centers over 2027-2028Google's largest single European investment, adding to an already record capex plan and to future depreciation.
- BNN Bloomberg, Marvell grants Google a warrant for up to $12.2 billion of stock in custom AI chip dealSecures custom silicon supply for TPUs and gives Alphabet an equity stake tied to purchases Marvell says could reach about $120 billion by fiscal 2033.
- Alphabet, Alphabet Q2 2026: revenue up 24% to $119.8 billion, Google Cloud up 82%Cloud grew 82% to $24.8 billion. A $99 billion gain on equity securities added $6.26 to the quarter's $9.11 of earnings per share, Alphabet says.
Headlines link to the original source.
Charts
Financials
| Income statement | Q4 FY23 | Q1 FY24 | Q2 FY24 | Q3 FY24 | Q4 FY24 | Q1 FY25 | Q2 FY25 | Q3 FY25 | Q4 FY25 | Q1 FY26 | Q2 FY26 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $86.3B | $80.5B | $84.7B | $88.3B | $96.5B+12% | $90.2B+12% | $96.4B+14% | $102.3B+16% | $113.8B+18% | $109.9B+22% | $119.8B+24% | |
| Cost of revenue | $37.6B | $33.7B | $35.5B | $36.5B | $40.6B+8% | $36.4B+8% | $39B+10% | $41.4B+13% | $45.8B+13% | $41.3B+14% | $45.9B+18% |
| Gross profit | $48.7B | $46.8B | $49.2B | $51.8B | $55.9B+15% | $53.9B+15% | $57.4B+17% | $61B+18% | $68.1B+22% | $68.6B+27% | $73.9B+29% |
| R&D | $12.1B | $11.9B | $11.9B | $12.4B | $13.1B+8% | $13.6B+14% | $13.8B+16% | $15.2B+22% | $18.6B+42% | $17B+26% | $18.2B+32% |
| SG&A | $12.9B | $9.5B | $9.9B | $10.8B | $11.8B−9% | $9.7B+3% | $12.3B+24% | $14.6B+35% | $13.6B+15% | $11.9B+23% | $14.9B+21% |
| $23.7B | $25.5B | $27.4B | $28.5B | $31B+31% | $30.6B+20% | $31.3B+14% | $31.2B+10% | $35.9B+16% | $39.7B+30% | $40.8B+30% | |
| Interest expense | $69M | $94M | $67M | $54M | $53M−23% | $34M−64% | $261M+290% | $143M+165% | $298M+462% | $34M+0% | $1.3B+390% |
| Pre-tax income | $24.4B | $28.3B | $27.6B | $31.7B | $32.2B+32% | $41.8B+48% | $33.9B+23% | $44B+39% | $39.1B+21% | $77.4B+85% | $138.8B+309% |
| $3.7B | $4.7B | $3.9B | $5.4B | $5.7B+53% | $7.2B+56% | $5.7B+46% | $9B+67% | $4.7B−18% | $14.8B+105% | $26.6B+363% | |
| Net income | $20.7B | $23.7B | $23.6B | $26.3B | $26.5B+28% | $34.5B+46% | $28.2B+19% | $35B+33% | $34.5B+30% | $62.6B+81% | $112.2B+298% |
| $1.64 | $1.89 | $1.89 | $2.12 | $2.15+31% | $2.81+49% | $2.31+22% | $2.87+35% | $2.82+31% | $5.11+82% | $9.11+294% | |
| 12.6B | 12.5B | 12.5B | 12.4B | 12.3B−2% | 12.3B−2% | 12.2B−2% | 12.2B−2% | 12.2B−1% | 12.2B−0% | 12.3B+1% |
From each company's 10-Q and 10-K filings. Fiscal years are four fiscal quarters added up; balance sheet lines are as of the period's end. Growth is on the same period a year earlier.
Estimates
Next earnings report: .
Analyst consensus for the next eight quarters, with the range from the lowest to the highest estimate, is part of Superworth Pro.
Peers
Companies of any business within ten times Alphabet's size, closest in size first.
| Company | Market cap | PE | Its 10y median PE | Fwd PE | P/S | Revenue growth | Net margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GOOGAlphabet Inc. | $4.2T | 17.4× | 28.1× | 9.5× | +20% | 54.8% | |
| MSFTMicrosoft Corporation | $3.9T | 29.5× | 33.1× | 11.9× | +18% | 40.3% | |
| AAPLApple Inc. | $4.9T | 38.6× | 27.8× | 10.5× | +14% | 27.6% | |
| NVDANVIDIA Corporation | $5.7T | 30.0× | 53.9× | 18.9× | +83% | 63.7% | |
| AMZNAmazon.com, Inc. | $2.8T | 20.9× | 79.5× | 3.6× | +16% | 17.4% | |
| METAMeta Platforms, Inc. | $1.8T | 27.2× | 28.5× | 8.1× | +28% | 29.8% | |
| AVGOBroadcom Inc. | $1.8T | 48.1× | 44.4× | 20.2× | +49% | 42.9% | |
| TSLATesla, Inc. | $1.5T | 350× | 177× | 14.4× | +12% | 3.7% | |
| MUMicron Technology, Inc. | $1.2T | 14.7× | 17.4× | 9.2× | +256% | 63.8% | |
| LLYEli Lilly and Company | $1.1T | 39.9× | 41.3× | 14.0× | +50% | 33.5% | |
| BRK-BBerkshire Hathaway Inc. | $1.1T | 12.7× | 14.5× | 2.8× | +4% | 22.3% | |
| Peer median | $1.8T | 29.8× | 37.2× | 11.2× | +23% | 31.7% |
About
- Chief executive
- Sundar Pichai, since 2019Google CEO since 2015, Alphabet CEO since 2019. Founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin are directors, not chair.
- Industry
- Internet Content & Information
- Sector
- Communication Services
Valuation data, not investment advice. Prices as of .