Over the next few weeks, hundreds of America's publicly traded companies will report their operating results for the quarter ended Dec. 31. But Wall Street will be especially focused on the technology giants leading the artificial intelligence (AI) revolution, because they have been the biggest drivers of stock market returns over the last few years.
Google parent Alphabet (GOOG 0.68%)(GOOGL 0.73%) is scheduled to report its fourth-quarter results on Feb. 4, and analysts will be watching closely for an update on its industry-leading Gemini AI models and its booming cloud computing business.
Alphabet stock soared by 65% last year, and it's already in the green in 2026. The company's upcoming earnings report could determine whether the momentum continues, so should investors buy the stock ahead of Feb. 4?
Image source: Alphabet.
AI Overviews and AI Mode are transforming Google Search
Alphabet's largest business is Google Search, which consistently accounts for more than half of its total revenue. There were initial concerns about AI chatbots like OpenAI's ChatGPT stealing internet traffic away from traditional search engines, but Google moved quickly to launch a series of new features to counter these potential threats.
AI Overviews, for example, use text, images, and links to third-party websites to provide complete answers to most queries, and they appear above the traditional search results so users don't have to sift through web pages to find the information they are looking for. Then there is AI Mode, which opens a chatbot-style interface within Google Search if users want to dive deeper into a certain topic.
These features are powered by Alphabet's Gemini family of AI models. The latest version -- Gemini 3 -- rocketed to the front of the industry following its release last November, outperforming some of the best models produced by leading start-ups like OpenAI and Anthropic.
NASDAQ: GOOGL
Key Data Points
During the third quarter of 2025 (ended Sept. 30), Google Search generated a record $56.5 billion in revenue, a 14.5% increase from the year-ago period. It was the second consecutive quarter in which that growth rate accelerated, and features like AI Overviews and AI Mode are responsible for a lot of the momentum.
Alphabet said AI Overviews alone were being used by more than 2 billion people every month as of Sept. 30, and since they monetize at a similar rate to traditional Google Search ads, they are actually complementing the company's core business. Investors will be looking for further progress on all of these fronts in the upcoming Feb. 4 report.
Google Cloud revenue likely accelerated further
Google Cloud is Alphabet's fastest-growing business, with revenue soaring by 34% to $15.1 billion in the third quarter. That also marked the second straight quarter in which revenue growth accelerated.
Google Cloud provides all the critical ingredients a business needs to develop and deploy AI software, including data center infrastructure and ready-made large language models (LLMs) like Gemini. As is the case with most cloud providers, Google Cloud's data centers are fitted with advanced chips from top suppliers like Nvidia. However, Alphabet also designed its own AI chips called Tensor Processing Units (TPUs) to give developers an alternative option.
Alphabet uses these TPUs to train its Gemini models, and Anthropic recently announced plans to access up to 1 million of them to train its latest Claude models, which was a big vote of confidence.
Google Cloud had a $155 billion order backlog as of Sept. 30 from developers who were waiting for the platform to build more data center capacity. That backlog grew by a whopping 82% year over year, which highlights the stark supply demand imbalance. Therefore, I think there is a good chance Google Cloud shows a further acceleration in revenue growth on Feb. 4.
Alphabet stock looks attractive heading into Feb. 4
Despite the surge in Alphabet stock over the last 12 months, it remains relatively cheap. The company's trailing-12-month earnings of $10.14 per share places its stock at a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 31.7, so it's still trading at a discount to the Nasdaq-100, which has a P/E ratio of 32.6 as I write this.
One single quarter is unlikely to change the trajectory of a powerhouse like Alphabet, but the Feb. 4 report could add to the company's momentum and set the stage for further upside in its stock over the long term. As a result, it could be a great buy ahead of the release, but it will likely be a solid buy afterward, too.
