10 Best Wide Moat Stocks to Invest In

3) Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 202

Morningstar gave a wide moat rating on Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) as a result of the company’s intangible assets, network effect, cost advantage, and customer switching costs. The company’s long-term growth is expected to be aided by its brand equity, AI expertise, and proprietary algorithms. Its network effects, fueled by its significant user base throughout multiple platforms, will also lend some support. Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) made significant strides in integrating AI throughout its product portfolio, with positive user satisfaction and monetization rates in comparison to traditional search.

Goldman Sachs maintained a “Buy” rating on Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)’s stock, providing a steady price target of $210.00. Goldman Sachs remains optimistic about the company’s positioning for the future of AI in enterprise and consumer computing. The firm lauded Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)’s leadership in large-scale LLMs with advanced multimodal capabilities. Amidst potential commoditization in the AI model layer, the investment banking company expects that the tech giant’s integration of AI into consumer and enterprise applications remains critical for widespread adoption and ROI.

Oakmark Funds, advised by Harris Associates, released its Q4 2024 investor letter. Here is what the fund said:

“Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) was the top contributor during the quarter. Despite ongoing litigation with the Department of Justice in its antitrust case, the U.S.-headquartered interactive media and services company’s stock price rose after posting solid third-quarter earnings. In the Search division, the company generated low-teens year-over-year revenue growth and management highlighted that they’re seeing strong user engagement with their new AI Overviews feature. The biggest upside surprise came from the Cloud division, where revenue growth accelerated to 35% and margins reached a record of 17%. This performance was driven by client demand for AI Infrastructure and Generative AI Solutions as well as core Google Cloud Platform (GCP) products. We continue to believe Alphabet is a collection of great businesses that can unlock further value over the long term through its world-class AI capabilities.”