On January 22, 2026, Wall Street acknowledged Alphabet’s (NASDAQ: GOOGL) strong performance through 2025 by raising the already bullish ‘Outperform’ – ‘Buy’ – rating to ‘Strong Buy.’
Specifically, analysts with Raymon James analyst Josh Beck issued a report boosting their recommendation for Google stock, while highlighting the continued development, deployment, and adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) as an especially bullish factor:
We believe Google is likely entering a cycle of improving AI stack narrative and upward revisions that could create one of the highest quality top-line AI acceleration stories in the public universe.
Within the same report, he forecasted that Google’s cloud business would increase its revenue 44% in 2026 and another 36% in 2027 – notably above the consensus predictions of 34% for the current year, and 41% for the next.
Wall Street overwhelmingly bullish on Google stock in 2026
While Raymond James’ forecast is somewhat more bullish than the Wall Street average, the ‘Strong Buy’ recommendation is in line with other institutional experts. Furthermore, Google stock is expected to rise up to 18.07% above its press time price of $330.30, and trade at $390 in 12 months’ time.
Although not all analysts are as optimistic as Canaccord Genuity’s $390, the average price target is, nonetheless, bullish, given it anticipates a 4.50% rally to $345.43 by late 2026 or early 2027.
Alphabet records impressive results in 2025
Considering Google’s results in 2025 and early 2026, it is easy to see what is behind Wall Street’s optimism for the company. GOOGL shares have recorded exceptional growth in the last 12 months, having risen 66.83% within the time frame.
The equity also performed admirably through the turmoil of January 2026, as it climbed an impressive 5.53%in the year-to-date (YTD) chart to its press time price of $330.30
Alphabet’s strong stock market performance is backed by strong business growth. The company’s third-quarter (Q3) earnings report showed the technology giant crossed above $100 billion in quarterly revenue for the first time, driven by a 34% cloud growth.
It is expected that the Q4 report – due on February 4, 2026 – will demonstrate similarly strong results, driving a continued rally for Google stock.
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