Why did Alphabet stock hit a 52-week high today? here’s what Wall street says

Alphabet stock (NASDAQ: GOOG) climbed to a fresh 52-week high on Wednesday, hitting $303.81, as investors embrace the tech giant’s AI strategy and strong cloud momentum.

The stock’s latest leg higher came after Berkshire Hathaway revealed it had built a massive $4.3 billion stake in the company, signaling confidence from Warren Buffett despite his historical skepticism of big tech.

Combined with continued strength in search advertising and an explosive 34% growth rate in Google Cloud driven by enterprise AI demand, Alphabet is trading near its highest valuation in company history.

The stock has already surged 60% over the past year and 47% year-to-date, outpacing the broader market and solidifying the company’s position as one of Wall Street’s favorite mega-cap growth stories.​

The momentum reflects a fundamental shift in how investors perceive Alphabet’s competitive position.

Just two years ago, ChatGPT’s launch sparked genuine concern that AI chatbots might cannibalize Google’s search business.

That narrative has flipped entirely. Alphabet’s own Gemini AI app has scaled to 650 million monthly active users, while AI-powered features like Search Generative Experience (SGE) and AI Mode are actually expanding query volumes rather than cannibalizing them.

The company reported its first-ever $100 billion revenue quarter in Q3, up 16% year-over-year, proving that AI adoption is working in Google’s favor across ads, YouTube, and cloud computing.​

Why Alphabet stock surged: Berkshire’s endorsement and cloud backlog explosion

Berkshire’s $49 billion investment can’t be overstated as a psychological catalyst.

Buffett famously avoided mega-cap tech stocks for years, viewing them as structurally risky and heavily valued.

His decision to become Alphabet’s one of the largest shareholder, after quietly accumulating shares over recent quarters, effectively validates the bull case that AI isn’t destroying Google’s moat but enhancing it.

That kind of third-party validation from one of investing’s most respected voices carries outsized weight, particularly for risk-conscious institutional investors who’d been sidelined.​

But Berkshire’s move wasn’t made in a vacuum. Google Cloud’s financial performance is what’s genuinely exciting analysts.

The division posted 34% revenue growth in Q3 to $15.2 billion and now carries a $155 billion backlog, up 46% quarter-over-quarter.

This backlog visibility is a game-changer because it shows enterprise customers aren’t just testing AI; they’re committing serious multiyear spending on Google’s infrastructure.

Cloud operating margins expanded to 23.7%, proving the business is scaling profitably as it grows.​

The search business narrative has also shifted. Alphabet’s core search revenue hit $56.6 billion in Q3, up 15% year-over-year, not despite AI, but because of it.

Younger users, particularly, are adopting AI Mode, which draws from expanded search queries.

Management noted AI Max ads rolled out globally in September, with hundreds of thousands of advertisers using it by quarter-end. That’s real monetization happening at scale.​

What Wall Street is saying

The Street has been aggressively bullish. Loop Capital upgraded Alphabet from Hold to Buy, highlighting expanding AI capabilities.

Raymond James, Stifel, and others have raised price targets into the $275–$292 range, with some analysts now modeling targets above $300.

The consensus among 26 analysts who’ve revised estimates recently is firmly bullish.​

That said, some voices are raising questions about valuation. Alphabet now trades at 25x forward earnings, reasonable but not cheap, and at a $3.5 trillion market cap sits above what some models suggest as “fair value.”

Management also raised capital expenditure guidance to $91–$93 billion to support AI infrastructure, signaling margin pressures ahead despite strong top-line growth.​

Loop’s upgrade came with caveats: much AI enthusiasm is already priced in at current levels.

Still, the convergence of Berkshire’s vote of confidence, expanding Cloud backlog, and proof that search monetization works with AI creates what analysts view as a durable multi-year growth story, one worth holding despite rich valuations.

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