Key Takeaways
- Waymo has surpassed 170.7 million autonomous miles driven without human intervention, demonstrating approximately 10 times fewer serious accidents compared to human-operated vehicles
- Morgan Stanley maintains its Buy recommendation on GOOGL with a $330 price objective, highlighting Waymo’s accelerated expansion timeline
- Evercore ISI sustains its Outperform stance with a $400 price target following proprietary search data revealing Google’s market share rebounding from 70% to 75% between August 2025 and March 2026
- ChatGPT’s search market presence decreased from 13% to 11% during the identical timeframe; 52% of generative AI adopters report increased Google search activity
- Alphabet shares are trading approximately 7% lower year-to-date and roughly 17% beneath the 52-week peak of $349, even as nearly 90% of Wall Street analysts maintain Buy recommendations
Alphabet (GOOGL) stock declined 2% during Thursday’s early session to $285.27, pressured by broader market headwinds. The S&P 500 retreated 0.8% while the Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 0.4%, as crude oil prices surged over 4%.
The decline occurred even as two favorable analyst reportsâfrom Morgan Stanley and Evercore ISIâbolstered conviction around both Waymo’s autonomous vehicle platform and Google’s core search business.
Morgan Stanley’s Brian Nowak maintained his Buy recommendation alongside a $330 price objective, noting that “Waymo continues to scale faster than expectedâŚleading with safety.” According to the latest metrics through December 2025, Waymo has logged 170.7 million rider-only miles with zero human driver involvement.
This milestone exceeded Morgan Stanley’s internal projections.
The safety metrics remain encouraging as well. Waymo documented approximately a tenfold reduction in serious accidents and a fivefold decrease in injury-related collisions when benchmarked against human-driven vehicles.
Waymo’s service currently spans 10 metropolitan areas across the United States. Nowak anticipates an additional 15 city launches throughout this year, coupled with fleet expansions in established markets. Wall Street consensus projects robo-taxi operations will at minimum double annually over the coming years.
Alphabet is committing substantial capital to support this expansion. According to FactSet estimates, the company is on track to allocate over $170 billion toward new equipment in 2026âa significant jump from $91 billion in 2025. This represents considerable capital deployment, even for an entity of Alphabet’s magnitude.
Google’s Search Dominance Remains Intact
Regarding the search segment, Evercore ISI reaffirmed its Outperform rating alongside a $400 price target following the completion of its eighth consecutive quarterly proprietary search analysis.
The findings revealed Google’s search market position strengthening from 70% to 75% between August 2025 and March 2026. During this identical period, ChatGPT’s search presence contracted from 13% to 11%.
Evercore noted no significant shifts in Google’s capture of commercial-intent queriesâsuch as e-commerce purchases or travel reservationsâover the preceding two-year period.
The investment firm increased its conviction in an above-consensus Google Search revenue expansion forecast of 14%-plus for 2026, compared to the Street’s 13% projection. This outlook is supported by anticipated high-single-digit advancement in both paid click volumes and cost-per-click metrics.
One advertising partner documented a conversion rate that doubledâjumping from 7% in Q1 2025 to 14% in Q1 2026. Advertising expenditure patterns were generally stable or accelerating on a year-over-year basis entering the first quarter, although Evercore noted emerging caution within the past 10 days.
Current Stock Performance
GOOGL has retreated approximately 7% year-to-date and sits roughly 17% below its 52-week zenith of $349, reached in February. A significant portion of the year-to-date weakness emerged following the onset of the Iran conflict.
Notwithstanding the pullback, close to 90% of analysts tracking the security maintain Buy ratingsâsubstantially above the standard 55%â60% Buy-rating proportion typical for S&P 500 constituents. The consensus analyst price target hovers around $380, elevated from approximately $335 at the beginning of 2026.
Alphabet’s revenue expanded 15% over the trailing twelve months, with analysts projecting 17% growth for fiscal 2026. The equity currently trades at a price-to-earnings multiple of 26.91 alongside a PEG ratio of 0.77.
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