Alphabet posted its second-quarter earnings after Wednesday's closing bell, beating on the headline numbers and giving a higher forecast for this year's capital expenditures. But some analysts say the debate over the future of Google's search empire is still unsettled.

AI upstarts were supposed to lay siege to Google’s search-engine dominance. So far, the defense is winning, writes Asa Fitch, following second-quarter results from parent company Alphabet. A: Google’s

Most leaders in the tech industry owe their wealth to founding equity stakes in their platforms, which Google’s Sundar Pichai does not have.

Alphabet shares rose more than 3% in early trading on Thursday as the Google parent's earnings underscored a key message to investors: AI spending is climbing, but so are the returns.

Many of Pichai's recent sales were made under a regulatory filing which allows stock sales to be set up in advance by officers of publicly-listed companies to avoid any accusations of inside trading.

Alphabet stock trades nearly flat year-to-date in 2025. A strong Q2 report could see shares trade higher and closer to all-time highs.

Alphabet was targeted with an EU antitrust complaint from six human and digital rights groups on Thursday which urged EU regulators to investigate whether the tech giant complies with legislation requiring it to make it easier for users to uninstall software apps.

Alphabet is growing fast in core and cloud segments, though rising AI capex is pressuring free cash flow and returns. Learn why GOOGL stock is a buy.