Google stock is hovering near $346 as Alphabet prepares to report second-quarter earnings Wednesday, July 22, after market close, with analysts expecting the company to post earnings per share of $2.87 and revenue of $116.53 billion.
The earnings report arrives as Google Cloud continues its remarkable acceleration. In the first quarter of 2026, Google Cloud revenue jumped 63 percent to $20.03 billion, marking the segment’s strongest growth in years and far exceeding analyst expectations for the full year. For Q2, analysts at IG expect Google Cloud to maintain that momentum with growth around 63 percent, according to a research note from July 16.
That cloud momentum matters because it’s become central to Alphabet’s investment story. In April, when Alphabet reported Q1 results, the company raised its full-year 2026 capital expenditure guidance to $180 billion to $190 billion, up from an earlier forecast of $175 billion to $185 billion. The increase signals aggressive spending on AI infrastructure and data centers to support both Google Cloud’s expansion and the rollout of Gemini, Google’s AI assistant competing with OpenAI’s ChatGPT. According to Fortune, the company expects spending to accelerate to more than $40 billion in the current quarter alone.
Alphabet’s Q1 2026 earnings beat expectations broadly, with total revenue reaching $109.9 billion, up 22 percent year-over-year, driven by strong demand for AI services across Google’s cloud and search businesses. The company’s backlog for Google Cloud nearly doubled quarter-on-quarter to over $460 billion, signaling sustained customer demand for AI infrastructure well into the future. That backlog conversion will be a key metric investors watch when Q2 results arrive Wednesday.
The stock’s position near $346 reflects investor caution ahead of the report. While Google Cloud’s growth has impressed, the massive capex commitment—potentially exceeding $185 billion for the full year—raises questions about near-term profitability and whether the AI infrastructure spending will deliver adequate returns. Analysts remain broadly bullish on the long-term opportunity but are watching closely to see whether the company can balance aggressive investment with earnings growth.
Sources
- Wall Street Horizon — confirmed Alphabet’s Q2 2026 earnings date as Wednesday, July 22, 2026, after market close
- Yahoo Finance — provided Google Cloud Q1 2026 revenue of $20.03 billion, up 63% year-over-year
- IG Markets — published earnings preview forecasting ~63% Google Cloud growth for Q2 2026
- Fortune — reported Alphabet raised 2026 capex guidance to $180-190 billion and expects Q2 spending above $40 billion
- Alphabet Investor Relations — disclosed Q1 2026 revenue of $109.9 billion, up 22% year-over-year, and Google Cloud backlog of $460 billion
- Barchart — provided analyst consensus for Q2 2026: $2.87 EPS and $116.53 billion revenue
- CNN Markets — confirmed Google stock price at $346.12 as of July 17, 2026
