Key Takeaways
- Waymo has logged 170.7 million fully autonomous miles with approximately 10 times fewer serious accidents compared to human-operated vehicles
- Morgan Stanley maintains Buy rating on GOOGL with $330 price target, highlighting Waymo’s accelerated expansion trajectory
- Evercore ISI sustains Outperform rating at $400 target following survey data revealing Google’s search market share grew from 70% to 75% between August 2025 and March 2026
- ChatGPT’s search market presence declined from 13% to 11% during the same timeframe; 52% of generative AI users reported increased Google search activity
- Alphabet shares have declined approximately 7% year-to-date and roughly 17% below the 52-week peak of $349, though nearly 90% of Wall Street analysts maintain Buy recommendations
Alphabet (GOOGL) shares retreated 2% during Thursday’s early trading session to $285.27, succumbing to broader market pressures. The S&P 500 declined 0.8% while the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.4%, as crude oil prices surged more than 4%.
The decline occurred even as two major Wall Street firms — Morgan Stanley and Evercore ISI — issued encouraging research notes highlighting strength in both Waymo’s autonomous vehicle division 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 expected…leading with safety.” The autonomous driving unit’s latest metrics, covering through December 2025, reveal 170.7 million rider-only miles accumulated without human oversight.
That milestone exceeded Morgan Stanley’s internal projections.
The safety metrics remain impressive as well. Waymo documented approximately a tenfold reduction in serious collision rates and a fivefold decrease in injury-related incidents when compared to human-driven vehicles.
Waymo presently serves 10 metropolitan areas across the United States. Nowak anticipates 15 additional market launches throughout this year, complemented by fleet expansions in current operating regions. Financial analysts widely project robo-taxi operations will at minimum double annually over the coming years.
Alphabet is making substantial capital investments to support this expansion. The technology giant is forecast to allocate over $170 billion toward new infrastructure in 2026 — a significant jump from $91 billion in 2025 — per FactSet estimates. That represents considerable capital expenditure, even for an enterprise of Alphabet’s magnitude.
Google Search Maintains Market Leadership
Regarding search performance, Evercore ISI confirmed its Outperform designation with a $400 price objective following completion of its eighth consecutive quarterly proprietary search market analysis.
The research revealed Google’s search market presence expanded from 70% to 75% during the August 2025 through March 2026 period. Simultaneously, ChatGPT’s search market participation contracted from 13% to 11%.
Evercore reported no significant fluctuation in Google’s portion of commercial-intent queries — such as e-commerce purchases or travel reservations — across the previous two years.
The investment firm increased conviction in its above-consensus Google Search revenue expansion forecast of 14%-plus for 2026, compared with Wall Street’s 13% consensus projection. This outlook factors in anticipated high-single-digit growth across both paid click volume and cost-per-click metrics.
One advertising partner documented a conversion rate that doubled — rising from 7% in Q1 2025 to 14% in Q1 2026. Marketing expenditure patterns remained generally stable or showed year-over-year acceleration entering Q1, although Evercore noted some emerging hesitation during the most recent 10-day period.
Current Stock Performance
GOOGL has decreased approximately 7% year-to-date and sits roughly 17% beneath its 52-week zenith of $349, achieved in February. The majority of this year’s pullback has materialized since geopolitical tensions with Iran escalated.
Notwithstanding the recent weakness, nearly 90% of equity analysts covering the stock assign it a Buy designation — substantially higher than the standard 55%–60% Buy-rating proportion for S&P 500 constituents. The consensus analyst price objective hovers around $380, elevated from approximately $335 at 2026’s commencement.
Alphabet’s revenue expanded 15% during the trailing twelve months, with Wall Street projecting 17% growth for fiscal 2026. The equity currently trades at a P/E multiple of 26.91 with a PEG ratio of 0.77.
