Here’s Why Alphabet (GOOG) Detracted in Q3

RiverPark Advisors, an investment advisory firm and sponsor of the RiverPark family of mutual funds, released its “RiverPark Large Growth Fund” third quarter 2024 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. During the third quarter, the markets performed strongly with the Russell 1000 Growth Index (RLG) and the S&P 500 index returning 3.19% and 5.89% respectively and RPX returning 3.73%. A weaker-than-expected jobs report that raised fears of a coming recession caused the RLG to drop 8.8% from the end of June to the fifth of August, giving the quarter a rocky start. As China passed a significant stimulus package and the Fed began its rate-cutting cycle with a 0.50% decrease to a goal of 4.75%-5.00%, those losses quickly reversed. In addition, please check the fund’s top five holdings to know its best picks in 2024.

RiverPark Large Growth Fund highlighted stocks like Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) in its Q3 2024 investor letter. Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG), the parent company of Google, offers various platforms and services operating through Google Services, Google Cloud, and Other Bets segments. The one-month return of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) was 11.16%, and its shares gained 41.14% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On December 17, 2024, Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) stock closed at $197.12 per share with a market capitalization of $2.402 trillion.

RiverPark Large Growth Fund stated the following regarding Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) in its Q3 2024 investor letter:

“Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG): Google was our top detractor in the third quarter despite reporting second quarter results that were generally in line with expectations. The company reported slightly better revenue growth in Search, which grew 14% and continues to be resilient in the face of AI challengers, and Google Cloud, which grew 29% in the quarter. Service operating income margins of 40% and Cloud operating income margins of 11% were also both ahead of investors’ expectations as management’s cost-efficiency efforts drove operating leverage. YouTube revenue growth was slightly below expectations (+13% v. +16%) driven by tougher year-over-year comparisons and some general weakness in the Brand Advertising vertical. Finally, Cap Ex in the quarter of $13.2 billion was more than expected and likely the driver of the weakness in the stock as investors grapple with how much infrastructure investment will be required to achieve Google’s AI goals.

With its high margin business model (44% EBITDA margins last quarter), continued strength across its core Search and YouTube franchises, and continued growth and expanding profitability in its still relatively small Cloud business, we continue to view Alphabet as among the best-positioned secular growth franchises in the market. Additionally, GOOG shares trade at a compelling 19.5x the Street’s 2025 EPS estimate, a discount to the Russell 1000 Growth Index.”

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) is in 7th position on our list of 31 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 160 hedge fund portfolios held Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) at the end of the third quarter which was 165 in the previous quarter. While we acknowledge the potential of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns, and doing so within a shorter timeframe. If you are looking for an AI stock that is as promising as NVIDIA but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.

In another article, we discussed Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) and shared the list of best augmented reality stocks to buy. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q3 2024 page for more investor letters from hedge funds and other leading investors.

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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.