This article first appeared on GuruFocus.
Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) climbed in early trade after BNP Paribas said the company may emerge as a major winner in artificial intelligence and cloud computing. Analyst Nick Jones, who initiated coverage with an Outperform rating and a $355 price target, said Google’s mix of search dominance, YouTube’s ad scale and a steadily expanding Google Cloud business positions it well for the next phase of AI adoption.
Jones said Google’s recovery has accelerated in recent quarters as regulatory pressure eased and investor confidence improved around its long-term AI roadmap.
He added that the company’s ability to show visible AI progress across search, ads and enterprise workloads could support further multiple expansion. We see GOOGL as an AI and Cloud winner, Jones wrote, adding that YouTube remains one of the strongest global video ad platforms at a time when marketers are shifting budgets toward measurable formats.
The firm highlighted two catalysts that could push the stock higher. Advertising outperformance would counter fears that AI chatbots may erode search traffic, while stronger-than-expected Google Cloud growth could lift sentiment around the company’s AI infrastructure strategy.
