Key Highlights
- Waymo’s autonomous vehicles have logged 170.7 million miles in rider-only mode, demonstrating approximately 10 times fewer serious accidents than human-driven vehicles
- Morgan Stanley maintains its Buy recommendation on GOOGL with a $330 price target, highlighting Waymo’s rapid expansion
- Evercore ISI sustains its Outperform stance with a $400 target following survey data revealing Google’s search share climbing 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 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, while nearly 90% of Wall Street analysts maintain Buy ratings
Alphabet (GOOGL) shares declined 2% during early Thursday trading hours, settling at $285.27, as market-wide pressure affected the technology giant. The broader S&P 500 index fell 0.8% while the Dow Jones Industrial Average retreated 0.4%, with crude oil prices surging more than 4%.
The stock pullback occurred alongside two encouraging analyst assessments — from Morgan Stanley and Evercore ISI — that strengthened conviction in Waymo’s autonomous driving division and Google’s core search business.
Morgan Stanley’s Brian Nowak maintained his Buy rating along with a $330 price target, noting that “Waymo continues to scale faster than expected…leading with safety.” The autonomous driving unit’s most recent operational data through December 2025 reveals 170.7 million rider-only miles accumulated without human driver intervention.
This milestone exceeded Morgan Stanley’s internal projections.
Safety metrics continue showing strong performance. Waymo documented approximately a tenfold reduction in serious collisions and a five-fold decrease in injury-related incidents when compared to human driver benchmarks.
Waymo presently provides service across 10 U.S. metropolitan areas. Nowak anticipates 15 additional city launches throughout this year, combined with fleet growth in current operating regions. Financial analysts widely project robo-taxi operations will expand at least twofold annually over the coming years.
Alphabet continues making substantial investments to support this expansion. The technology conglomerate expects to allocate over $170 billion toward new equipment in 2026 — representing a significant increase from $91 billion in 2025 — based on FactSet projections. This represents considerable capital expenditure, even for an enterprise of this magnitude.
Google Maintains Search Dominance
Regarding search performance, Evercore ISI reaffirmed its Outperform rating alongside a $400 price target following completion of its eighth quarterly proprietary search analysis.
The research indicated Google’s search market position strengthening from 70% to 75% during the August 2025 to March 2026 period. Throughout this same window, ChatGPT’s search presence contracted from 13% to 11%.
Evercore reported stable trends in Google’s portion of commercial-intent searches — transactions such as retail purchases or travel reservations — across the previous two years.
The investment firm elevated confidence in its above-consensus Google Search revenue growth projection of 14%-plus for 2026, compared against the Street’s 13% forecast. The outlook incorporates anticipated high-single-digit expansion in both paid click volume and cost-per-click metrics.
One advertiser documented a conversion rate that doubled — rising from 7% in Q1 2025 to 14% in Q1 2026. Advertising expenditure patterns remained steady or accelerated on a year-over-year basis entering Q1, although Evercore noted emerging caution within the past 10 days.
Current Stock Position
GOOGL has retreated approximately 7% year-to-date and stands roughly 17% beneath its 52-week peak of $349, reached in February. Much of the year-to-date decline has accumulated since the Iran conflict began.
Despite the recent downturn, nearly 90% of analysts tracking the stock assign it a Buy rating — substantially above the typical 55%–60% Buy-rating proportion for S&P 500 constituents. The consensus analyst price target hovers around $380, climbing from approximately $335 at the beginning of 2026.
Alphabet’s revenue expanded 15% throughout the trailing twelve months, with analysts 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.
