Alphabet: Record Profit as Markets Await Their Verdict

On 22 July, Alphabet reported its Q2 2026 results, with revenue rising 24% year-on-year to $119.8 billion. Google Cloud revenue surged 82% to $24.77 billion, comfortably exceeding analysts' expectations. Search advertising generated $63.3 billion in revenue (+17%), while YouTube revenue increased 13% to $11.06 billion. Net income nearly quadrupled to $112.11 billion. However, according to the company's financial statements, almost all of the increase was driven by unrealised revaluation gains on its private investments in Anthropic and SpaceX rather than by underlying operating performance. Meanwhile, quarterly capital expenditure doubled from a year earlier to $44.9 billion, reflecting continued investment in AI data centre infrastructure.

Technical Analysis

On the 4-hour chart of Alphabet (GOOGL Class A on FXOpen), a short-term bearish structure developed after the price reached the $404 area on 18 May. The decline lost momentum near $334. Following the reversal, the price attempted to break the trendline on 6 July but failed to move beyond the current market profile range. After another rejection from the upper boundary of the profile around $372, the stock turned lower and is now trading between the Point of Control (POC) at $355 and the lower edge of the profile near $337.

The red resistance zone around $391 could limit any recovery attempt, while continued selling pressure may shift attention towards the green support area near $329. The RSI + Moving Averages indicator currently shows readings of 39, 48, and 47. Although the RSI remains below the moving averages, the averages themselves are still coloured green and positioned in the middle of the neutral zone, suggesting that momentum remains inconclusive. Vertical volume has been relatively moderate since the price broke below the trendline, reinforcing the current lack of directional conviction.

Key Takeaways

Despite reporting a sharp increase in net income, Alphabet's share price reaction has been relatively muted. Strong performances from Google Cloud and Search were partly offset by the fact that most of the profit growth came from a one-off investment revaluation rather than core operations. As a result, fundamental developments may continue to have a greater influence on the stock than the current technical picture in the near term.