4 weeks ago
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Alphabet may be on the verge of upending the AI stock race.
The Google parent is closing in on Nvidia’s market value, narrowing the gap between the two companies that have become shorthand for the AI boom, according to recent reports. Alphabet’s rally has been fueled by growing confidence in Google Cloud, custom AI processors, and major AI infrastructure deals.
Alphabet still needs to close a gap of nearly $120 billion to top the market. Nvidia’s market cap last stood close to $4.79 trillion as of Tuesday morning, compared to Alphabet’s at $4.67 trillion, per Reuters. Nvidia has a previous all-time market high of around $5.2 trillion.
But many experts now think Alphabet will surpass its rival.
Wall Street warms to Alphabet’s AI strategy
The move reflects a dramatic shift in investor sentiment as Alphabet increasingly positions itself as a major player in AI services through its cloud platform. It is also becoming a growing threat to Nvidia, thanks in part to a reported $200 billion, five-year commitment from the AI research lab Anthropic to use both Google Cloud and Nvidia’s custom processors.
In recent months, Alphabet’s cloud growth has caught Wall Street’s attention, far exceeding expectations and those of bigger rivals Amazon and Microsoft.
“It’s really about hyperscaler capex spend and, to some degree, early signs of better monetization – particularly from Alphabet – versus the broader AI ‘food chain,’ which includes data centers, grid, and power,” Stephanie Link, chief investment strategist at Hightower Advisors, told Reuters.
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Google Cloud significantly beats revenue projections
Alphabet last held the No. 1 position briefly in February 2016 before Apple reclaimed the spot.
Google Cloud’s revenue grew 63% in the first quarter, much higher than analysts had projected, and the growth rate was the highest since Alphabet began segmenting the unit’s revenue in 2020, according to LSEG data.
“High demand for cloud and AI offerings drove a ‘meaningful acceleration’ in growth, indicating to investors that significant AI investments are paying off,” Jeff Buchbinder, chief equity strategist at LPL Financial, told Reuters.
Alphabet’s shares have surged about 24% this year, while Nvidia’s shares are up just about 7%.
Nvidia’s stock was brought down from its peak after the Wall Street Journal reported last month that OpenAI had missed its targets for new users and revenue.
Alphabet flying high
In the AI realm, Alphabet has been competing with OpenAI so aggressively that it has reinforced Wall Street’s view that the company is the industry leader. In 2025, its shares surged 65.3%.
The stock also got a boost last year after a US judge ruled that Alphabet did not violate antitrust laws, nixing a suit brought by the US government seeking to break up the company. The ruling allowed Alphabet to retain control of its Chrome browser and Android mobile operating system.
For more on Google’s latest Android security concerns, read our coverage of the company’s patch for a critical zero-click remote code execution flaw affecting billions of devices.