Why Alphabet Stock Cranked Higher Today

Source The Motley Fool

Although Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOG)(NASDAQ: GOOGL) is currently undergoing a tough antitrust case, investors pushed the prices of its two share classes higher on the second trading day of the week. Many were cheered by the prospect of a top name in artificial intelligence (AI) potentially buying one of the company's more high-profile assets. This could be a neat way out of its current legal bind. On the day, Alphabet's stock price rose by almost 3%.

A promising offer?

During Tuesday's session of the antitrust court case, a key executive at that AI business, leading developer OpenAI, stated that his company could buy the Chrome browser. Chrome is a popular free product developed by Alphabet's core Google unit.

Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now. Learn More »

Nick Turley, the head of product of OpenAI's high-profile ChatGPT service, made the remarks while testifying at the Alphabet trial. The Department of Justice (DoJ) brought the suit, accusing the tech industry titan of engaging in anti-competitive practices with its foundational search business.

Federal prosecutors are particularly concerned with the future of AI. They stated in their opening statements during the trial that Alphabet's alleged monopoly in search could give it an unfair advantage in the current, very high-stakes AI race.

Alphabet has not publicly stated, at least to date, that it is considering a sale of Chrome.

A potentially valuable chip to play

Nevertheless, Turley's pronouncements are meaningful.

Chrome is, by its nature, a big platform for Alphabet, not least because it's the default search engine packed into the software (many users might not even be aware that they can change this to a rival site). The government might consider a sale sufficient to allay its antitrust concerns, or at least part of a settlement.

While OpenAI is an independently owned and operated company, it has benefited from sizable investments from Alphabet's longtime peer and sometime rival, Microsoft. Microsoft has its own search engine, Bing, which could very well become Chrome's default if OpenAI becomes the browser's new owner.

Should you invest $1,000 in Alphabet right now?

Before you buy stock in Alphabet, consider this:

The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Alphabet wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.

Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $532,771!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $593,970!*

Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 781% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 149% for the S&P 500. Don’t miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor.

See the 10 stocks »

*Stock Advisor returns as of April 21, 2025

Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Eric Volkman has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet and Microsoft. The Motley Fool recommends the following options: long January 2026 $395 calls on Microsoft and short January 2026 $405 calls on Microsoft. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Disclaimer: For information purposes only. Past performance is not indicative of future results.
placeholder
USD/CAD Price Forecast: Tests initial support near 1.3950, followed by nine-day EMAThe USD/CAD pair is losing ground after registering gains in the previous session, trading around 1.3950 during the European hours on Monday. The daily chart's technical analysis suggested a sustained bullish sentiment, as the pair continues to trade within the ascending channel pattern.
Author  FXStreet
11 hours ago
The USD/CAD pair is losing ground after registering gains in the previous session, trading around 1.3950 during the European hours on Monday. The daily chart's technical analysis suggested a sustained bullish sentiment, as the pair continues to trade within the ascending channel pattern.
placeholder
Japan’s 40-year bond yield hits 20-year high. The entire world should be very worriedJapan’s bond market just fired a warning shot at the global economy. The country’s 40-year government bond yield surged to 3.445% on Monday, the highest it’s been in two decades.
Author  Cryptopolitan
11 hours ago
Japan’s bond market just fired a warning shot at the global economy. The country’s 40-year government bond yield surged to 3.445% on Monday, the highest it’s been in two decades.
placeholder
Gold turns positive as  Moody's US downgrade sends US yields higherGold (XAU/USD) price remains within a tight range, trading slightly higher near $3,243 at the time of writing, with three main themes at play on Monday. Tensions are brewing in the Middle East with Israel embarking on another massive ground offensive.
Author  FXStreet
11 hours ago
Gold (XAU/USD) price remains within a tight range, trading slightly higher near $3,243 at the time of writing, with three main themes at play on Monday. Tensions are brewing in the Middle East with Israel embarking on another massive ground offensive.
placeholder
Stocks, US Treasury yield, and gold all plunge after Moody’s downgradeMarkets went red before the opening bell on Monday after Moody’s cut the United States’ top credit rating, hammering stock futures, lifting Treasury yields, and dragging down gold.
Author  Cryptopolitan
11 hours ago
Markets went red before the opening bell on Monday after Moody’s cut the United States’ top credit rating, hammering stock futures, lifting Treasury yields, and dragging down gold.
placeholder
US Dollar Index falls below 100.50 following Moody’s downgrade of US credit ratingThe US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the US Dollar (USD) against a basket of six major currencies, has retraced its recent gains from the previous session and is trading around 100.40 during the Asian hours on Monday.
Author  FXStreet
13 hours ago
The US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the US Dollar (USD) against a basket of six major currencies, has retraced its recent gains from the previous session and is trading around 100.40 during the Asian hours on Monday.
goTop
quote