Alphabet Inc. (Class C)

GOOG
Financial Analysis · Updated May 12, 2026 · Coverage 2026-Q2
Latest Q Revenue
$109.9B
Q1 2026 · +22% YoY
TTM ROIC
37%
FY2025 · EBIT (Operating Income) / Capital Employed (Total Assets - Non-interest-bearing current liabilities - Excess cash) · WACC ~8.5% · Moat spread +28.5pp
DCF Fair Value
$330
Base case · WACC 9.5% · Terminal 4% · -15.4% vs. current price
Margin Profile
Gross 59.5%
Operating 32%
FCF 18%
FY2025
Net Cash
$78.0B
Cash $127.0B · Debt $49.0B · Q1 2026
Diluted Shares
12.10B
Q1 2026 · -2.8% (buyback)

Business Overview

ticker: GOOG step: 01 generated: 2026-05-11 source: quick-research

Alphabet Inc. Class C (GOOG) — Business Overview

Note on share class: GOOG (Class C) and GOOGL (Class A) represent identical economic ownership of Alphabet Inc. The sole difference is voting rights — Class A shares carry one vote each; Class C shares carry no voting rights. Both classes participate equally in dividends, buybacks, and all economic returns. GOOG typically trades within 0–1% of GOOGL. The business description, financials, and catalysts below apply equally to both share classes.

Business Description

Alphabet Inc. is the parent of Google and a portfolio of "Other Bets" businesses. Its core business is digital advertising (Google Search, YouTube ads, Google Network) and cloud infrastructure / AI services (Google Cloud + Gemini). It also operates Android, Chrome, Pixel hardware, and Waymo (autonomous vehicles).

Revenue Model

  • Google Services (~88% of revenue): Search advertising, YouTube ads, YouTube subscriptions (Premium, Music, TV), Google Network (AdSense, AdMob), Google Play, hardware (Pixel, Nest)
  • Google Cloud (~13% of revenue, fast-growing): GCP infrastructure, Workspace SaaS, Gemini Enterprise AI services
  • Other Bets (<1% of revenue): Waymo, Verily, Wing, X — mostly pre-revenue or early monetization

Products & Services

  • Google Search + AI Overviews + Gemini AI
  • YouTube (ads + Premium + Music + TV + Shorts)
  • Google Cloud Platform (GCP) + Workspace + Gemini Enterprise
  • Android OS + Google Play Store
  • Chrome browser + Chromebook
  • Pixel phones, Nest devices, Fitbit
  • Waymo autonomous ride-hailing
  • Google Maps, Photos, Drive, Translate

Customer Base & Go-to-Market

  • Advertisers: Millions of SMB to enterprise advertisers via self-serve auction platforms
  • Consumers: Over 4B monthly users across Search, YouTube, Android, Gmail, Maps
  • Cloud customers: Enterprises across financial services, retail, healthcare, media; growing AI-first cohort
  • Distribution leverages default placements (Android, Chrome, Apple Safari deal), network effects, and free-tier hooks

Competitive Position

Alphabet is the #1 global search engine (~90% share), the #1 video platform (YouTube), and the #3 hyperscale cloud (behind AWS and Azure but fastest growing). Its competitive moats include search scale & data, distribution via Android/Chrome, custom TPU silicon, full-stack AI (Gemini + DeepMind + TPUs), and YouTube's creator network. Faces antitrust scrutiny on both search and adtech.

Key Facts

  • Founded: 1998 (Alphabet restructure: 2015)
  • Headquarters: Mountain View, CA
  • Employees: ~183,000
  • Exchange: NASDAQ
  • Sector / Industry: Communication Services / Interactive Media & Services
  • Market Cap: ~$2.5T
  • CEO: Sundar Pichai

Financial Snapshot

ticker: GOOG step: 04 generated: 2026-05-11 source: quick-research

Alphabet Inc. Class C (GOOG) — Financial Snapshot

Note: Financials are identical to GOOGL (Class A) since both share classes represent the same underlying company. The only difference is voting rights — economic exposure is identical.

Income Statement Summary

Metric FY2023 FY2024 FY2025 YoY
Revenue $307.4B $350.0B $389.7B +11%
Gross Margin 56.9% 58.2% 59.5% +1.3pp
Operating Margin 27.4% 32.1% 33.5% +1.4pp
Net Income $73.8B $100.1B $115.4B +15%
EPS (diluted) $5.80 $7.97 $9.40 +18%

Cash Flow & Balance Sheet (FY2025)

Metric Value
Operating Cash Flow ~$165B
Capital Expenditures ($91.5B)
Free Cash Flow ~$73.3B
Cash & Marketable Securities ~$95B
Total Debt ~$28B
Buybacks (2025) ~$60B
Dividends Paid (2025) ~$10B

Key Ratios (approximate, as of May 2026)

  • P/E: ~22x | EV/EBITDA: ~16x | FCF Yield: ~3% (compressing due to CapEx)
  • Revenue Growth (TTM): ~14% | FCF Margin: ~19%
  • Net cash position: ~$67B

Growth Profile

Q1 2026 revenue grew 22% YoY to $109.9B (EPS +82% to $5.11), with Google Cloud accelerating to +63% YoY ($20B in quarterly revenue). Search remains the largest segment growing ~19%. The big swing factor through 2026–27 is CapEx — guided to $180–190B for 2026 (vs. $91B in 2025) to support AI infrastructure, which will sharply compress FCF in the near term while management bets on AI monetization.

Forward Estimates

  • 2026E Revenue: ~$435B (consensus, +12%)
  • 2026E EPS: ~$10.50 (consensus, +12%)
  • 2026E FCF: ~$20B (consensus, down ~72% YoY as CapEx absorbs cash)
  • 2027E Revenue: ~$490B
  • 2027E EPS: ~$12.50

Deeper Financial Analysis

The fundamental tier adds 9 additional research dimensions for $GOOG.

Revenue Breakdown
Segment revenue, geographic mix, product-line contribution margins, and cohort dynamics.
Financial Trends
Quarter-over-quarter momentum, leading indicators, and inflection point analysis.
Balance Sheet
Debt structure, liquidity runway, dilution risk, and working capital dynamics.
Capital Allocation
Buyback cadence, M&A appetite, dividend policy, and reinvestment priorities.
Returns on Capital (ROIC)
Multi-year ROIC vs. WACC, marginal returns on reinvestment, sales-to-invested-capital efficiency, and moat spread.
GET /api/v1/research/GOOG/fundamental$1.00 · Bearer token required
Markdown: /stocks/goog/financials/md · → thesis · → memo
Alphabet Inc. (Class C) (GOOG) — Financial Analysis | Margin of Insight