Google’s 2025 felt like driving an F1 car in city traffic, as the tech behemoth powered through with occasional hard brakes.
It kicked off the year with Gemini everywhere, layered through Search, YouTube, and Workspace, which quietly turned Google’s apps into AI-native tools. YouTube kept flexing its flywheel (shorts and connected TV), while Google Cloud tightened execution with major wins and steadier profitability.
Consequently, Alphabet stock gained 35% year-to-date, beating broader-market gains by a comfortable margin, and over 67% in the past six months alone.
However, it wasn’t all smooth sailing.
AI Overviews drew a ton of scrutiny, with rivals poking into its durable search moat, and regulators kept Google on speed dial. Waymo faced plenty of safety-related questions, while the legal meter kept humming.
That said, a fresh read from Bank of America lands now with extra weight ahead of Google’s Q3 earnings print.
One top-ranked BofA analyst just reset his price target on Alphabet stock ahead of earnings, with the substance sitting in the details.
The timing of the note points to something worth a much closer look.
Image source: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
BofA lifts Google price target to $280, sees 11% upside ahead of Q3 results
Ahead of Google-parent Alphabet’s October 29 earnings report, Bank of America’s Justin Post just bumped his price target on the stock to $280 from $252, while maintaining a buy rating. His updated new rating implies nearly an 11% upside from current levels.
It’s important to note that the call comes from an analyst who ranks 32nd out of more than 10,000tracked by TipRanks. Additionally, he boasts a 70% success rate, along with an average return of 24% per rating.
More Tech Stocks:
- Musk’s Netflix boycott could actually hurt the streamer
- OpenAI’s deal with AMD proves AI race has just begun
- Goldman Sachs tweaks Nvidia’s stock price target with a twist
- The stock market laughed, then Palantir redefined the fight
Post’s reasoning is straightforward.
Google’s ad engine is still moving along remarkably well. He sees stronger spending trends across multiple core categories in Q3, which should be enough to offset a mild dip in organic search visits.
Also, his revenue forecast now sits at $86 billion, nudging it above Wall Street’s $85 billion consensus.
Related: Why Nvidia’s Vera Rubin may unleash another AI wave
Moreover, he is modeling earnings per share of $2.17, slightly below consensus due to roughly $3.9 billion in legal charges, but acknowledging that the underlying profitability remains intact.
Strip those numbers out, and Google’s operating margin holds near 35.7%, underscoring tight cost control and steadier monetization.
Post isn’t ignoring the bigger themes, either. He expects Google to focus on broader Gemini AI adoption across products and build on its strength in the Cloud, where new customer wins continue to fuel backlog and bottom-line expansion.
Quick takeaways:
- Price target raised: BofA’s Justin Post just bumped Google stock’s price target to $280, highlighting 11% upside ahead of Q3 earnings.
- Core ads steady: Robust ad spend and cost control effectively keep margins near 36%, even with legal costs.
- AI and Cloud lift: Gemini adoption and Google Cloud wins reinforce Alphabet’s trajectory.
Google’s Q3 earnings on deck
Alphabet is heading into Q3 with a decent head of steam.
Its Q2 results came out clean, with its EPS landing at $2.31 (GAAP and normalized), beating estimates by $0.12 and $0.11, respectively, while its revenue hit $96.43 billion, a hefty $2.39 billion beat.
Related: Salesforce CEO targets giant rival with new product
For Q3, Wall Street’s modeling $2.29 EPS on $99.97 billion in revenue. Estimate revisions have leaned mostly positive over 90 days (29 up versus 12 down), which is a quiet vote of confidence in ads, Cloud, and AI.
Investors will zero in on Search and YouTube Shorts engagement, especially if paid clicks and CPCs hold; a massive win for the “AI isn’t killing search” camp.
Cloud margin stability is also an imperative, with investors looking for opex discipline and healthy backlog signals. Gemini traction is also important, especially in Search, Workspace, and dev tools.
That said, here are Alphabet’s recent earnings at a glance over the past five quarters:
- FQ2 2025 (June): EPS $2.31 (+$0.11 beat); revenue $96.43 billion (+$2.39 billion beat). YOY+13.8%.
- FQ1 2025 (Mar.): EPS $2.81 (+$0.80 beat); revenue $90.23 billion (+$1.08 billion beat). YOY+12.0%.
- FQ4 2024 (Dec.): EPS $2.15 (+$0.02 beat); revenue $96.47 billion (-$0.20 billion miss). YOY+11.8%.
- FQ3 2024 (Sept.): EPS $2.12 (+$0.27 beat); revenue $88.27 billion (+$2.05 billion beat). YOY+15.1%.
- FQ2 2024 (June): EPS $1.89 (+$0.05 beat); revenue $84.74 billion (+$0.45 billion beat). YOY+13.6%.
Related: Veteran trader who bought Nvidia at $13 resets stock price target
