By now, investors should be convinced that artificial intelligence (AI) isn't going away. Whether you believe we're in an AI-driven bubble is a different question. However, the underlying technology will have big implications for our economy and society.
From a portfolio perspective, it's time to consider ways to gain exposure to the AI boom, with huge returns potentially on tap. Luckily, investors don't need to look far. Here's one already-dominant AI stock that's ready for a bull run.
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Is this the best AI stock on the market?
In the past quarter (Q2 2025, ended June 30), Alphabet (GOOGL +10.06%) (GOOG +10.00%) collected $96 billion in revenue. What's more, this supreme internet firm sports a colossal market cap of $2.4 trillion. The company hardly keeps a low profile. However, Alphabet truly stands out because it's essentially an all-inclusive AI play.
The business is developing its own chips, called Tensor Processing Units, which power training and inference of AI models. Alphabet has the base infrastructure layer covered, an area that investors are certainly familiar with. Nvidia dominates this industry, but progress on this front should benefit Alphabet because it's a big Nvidia customer.
The next level up is the platform. Alphabet is among the leaders here, with its Google Cloud Platform (GCP), which posted impressive 32% year-over-year revenue growth in Q2 with an operating margin of 21%. GCP allows its customers to develop their own AI applications. "Nearly all Gen AI unicorns use Google Cloud," CEO Sundar Pichai said.
Finally, Alphabet has various internet properties that connect directly with hundreds of millions and even billions of users. Think of Gmail, Maps, YouTube, Android, or Chrome, to name just five. All of these are already using Gemini. With AI capabilities continuing to improve the user experience, these products and services will only get better with time.
With a presence at the infrastructure, platform, and end-user levels, as well as a research lab in DeepMind, Alphabet might be the best AI enterprise out there. This statement could be a shock to some, considering how much fear there has been about the threat AI poses to Google Search, the crown jewel segment. There's nothing to worry about at this point. Search's revenue jumped 12% in the latest quarter. And according to the management team, AI Mode has more than 100 million monthly active users in the U.S. and India, where it's currently available.
NASDAQ: GOOGL
Key Data Points
Why now?
Artificial intelligence is very much in the DNA of Alphabet's operations. Even though that seems obvious, the market isn't giving the company the respect it deserves. Shares trade at a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.3. This makes Alphabet the cheapest of the "Magnificent Seven" stocks. And shares trade at a 16% discount to the overall S&P 500. This just doesn't seem warranted.
The market is likely still concerned about ongoing regulatory uncertainty. Most notably, the Department of Justice ruled that Google has an illegal monopoly in online search. It's unknown how things will play out.
Plus, investors might still be worried about AI's ultimate impact on Alphabet. For what it's worth, OpenAI's ChatGPT is estimated to have hundreds of millions of users. That's a massive figure that can't be overlooked. And it underscores just how important it is for Alphabet to keep user attention on its internet properties.
According to Wall Street consensus analyst estimates, Alphabet's revenue and earnings per share are expected to increase at compound annual rates of 11.6% and 14.3%, respectively, between 2024 and 2027. That's a very encouraging outlook that when coupled with the potential for valuation upside, makes this a top AI stock that's ready for a bull run.
