A recent judicial decision has established that Google maintains monopolistic positions in both the publisher ad server and advertiser ad network markets. However, the court did not find sufficient evidence from the Department of Justice to suggest that Google's advertiser tools or its acquisitions of DoubleClick and AdMeld were anti-competitive.
Bank of America analyst Justin Post suggests that the ruling opens the door to potential behavioral or structural remedies. Despite this, the analyst believes any financial impact on Alphabet (GOOG, Financial) may be minor. This is because the Google Network segment at risk generated $30 billion in revenue in 2024, which represents less than 9% of Google's total gross revenues and only 3% of its net revenues.
Furthermore, if remedies are imposed, they are likely to be deferred during the appeal process—a period that could extend up to 18 months. This timeframe might delay enforcement actions until 2027 or beyond, providing Alphabet with a temporary reprieve.
Despite the legal challenges, the firm continues to rate Alphabet's shares as a Buy, maintaining a price target of $185.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast
Based on the one-year price targets offered by 17 analysts, the average target price for Alphabet Inc (GOOG, Financial) is $207.59 with a high estimate of $234.00 and a low estimate of $173.00. The average target implies an upside of 35.36% from the current price of $153.36. More detailed estimate data can be found on the Alphabet Inc (GOOG) Forecast page.
Based on the consensus recommendation from 22 brokerage firms, Alphabet Inc's (GOOG, Financial) average brokerage recommendation is currently 1.8, indicating "Outperform" status. The rating scale ranges from 1 to 5, where 1 signifies Strong Buy, and 5 denotes Sell.
Based on GuruFocus estimates, the estimated GF Value for Alphabet Inc (GOOG, Financial) in one year is $195.73, suggesting a upside of 27.63% from the current price of $153.36. GF Value is GuruFocus' estimate of the fair value that the stock should be traded at. It is calculated based on the historical multiples the stock has traded at previously, as well as past business growth and the future estimates of the business' performance. More detailed data can be found on the Alphabet Inc (GOOG) Summary page.
