By Christine Ji
Alphabet has become the best performer in the ‘Magnificent Seven’ on a year-to-date basis, showing how its stock has new shine in the eyes of investors
Shares of Alphabet have risen 33% year to date.
Competition among the “Magnificent Seven” names is heating up, and that can be exemplified by a milestone that Alphabet Inc.’s stock achieved on Monday.
Alphabet’s (GOOGL) (GOOG) stock rose to become the best-performing “Magnificent Seven” name on a year-to-date basis, with a 33.0% return that surpasses Nvidia Corp.’s (NVDA) 32.3% gain. It’s an incredible comeback for Alphabet, whose stock was beaten down earlier in the year over concerns that artificial intelligence would erode Google Search and that a then-looming antitrust ruling could force unwelcome business changes. At its lowest point this year, shares of Alphabet had fallen by 24.6%.
But with Gemini taking the top spot in the iPhone’s U.S. App Store this weekend and a judge handing down a better-than-expected antitrust ruling earlier this month, investors are looking at Google with refreshed optimism. Shares of Google rose over 4% on Monday.
Monday’s stock surge has brought Google’s market capitalization past $3 trillion, a feat that only Nvidia, Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) and Apple Inc. (AAPL) have achieved previously.
And from a stock perspective, there’s been a reshuffling toward the top of Big Tech. As of last Friday, Nvidia had been the best “Magnificent Seven” performer year to date, with Meta Platforms Inc. (META) in second place.
On Monday, Citi analyst Ronald Josey raised his price target on Alphabet’s stock to $280 from $225, citing an improved regulatory landscape and ramping “product velocity” for Gemini. The $280 price target is one of the highest among analysts polled by FactSet.
Gemini has trailed ChatGPT in adoption, but its newest image-editing feature, Nano Banana, could help Google gain market share among generative-AI products. Josey believes Gemini’s “features, functionality and pricing are increasingly among the most competitive, resulting in greater adoption.”
Additionally, Google’s existing product suite is emerging as a significant advantage in the AI race, providing the company access to easy distribution and integration channels.
“Google’s product halo” – consisting of 15 products with upwards of 500 million monthly active users and seven products with more than 2 billion monthly active users – “can lead to continued search usage as Gemini is further integrated across all of Google’s products and services,” Josey added.
The antitrust ruling earlier in September removed much investor concern and provided a boost to Google’s stock. The decision, which allowed Google to keep its Chrome browser, signaled a potentially less punitive outcome for its upcoming advertising-technology remedy trial as well, Josey believes.
Although a longtime favorite of the AI trade, Nvidia has faced persistent questions this year about its business in China. Those concerns intensified on Monday after Chinese regulators accused the chipmaker of violating antitrust laws, causing the stock to dip.
Also read: Can Alphabet’s stock post more big gains? This Wall Street bull charts the path to $300.
-Christine Ji
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09-15-25 2008ET
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