Alphabet Stock Is Up 26.5% Over the Past Year. Still a Buy at $320?

• GOOGL is up 26.5% over the past year to $320.21 but still 20.5% below its $402.62 May record. • Shares fell after Alphabet's $80B equity raise and a 2026 capex guide hike to $195B-$205B. • Q3 earnings arrive Oct. 28; analysts see revenue rising from $500B in 2026 to $627B in 2027. Alphabet stock is up 26.5% over the past year to $320.21, but sits 20.5% below its May 13 record close of $402.62. Shares rallied after an April 29 earnings beat (revenue up 22%, Cloud up 63%, backlog nearly doubling to $460 billion) and a disclosure that Berkshire Hathaway had tripled its Alphabet stake. The reversal began June 1, when Alphabet announced an $80 billion equity raise, including $10 billion from Berkshire. A strong Q2 report on July 22 (revenue up 24%, Cloud up 82% to $24.8 billion) was overshadowed by a raised 2026 capex guide of $195-205 billion and negative free cash flow, sending shares down 7.13%. A brief rebound to $377.65 faded, with shares trading between the $330s and $350s since. Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian has defended the spending, citing under-two-year payback on AI servers. Q3 results land Wednesday, October 28; analysts project revenue growing from $500.14 billion in 2026 to $626.82 billion in 2027.