Kevin O’Leary’s Stock Portfolio: 15 Stock Picks for 2025

5. Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 202

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) is renowned in the technology industry for being a global giant due to its diverse products, including Google Cloud and Google Services, which dominate a number of market segments. Google’s main products—Search, YouTube, Android, Chrome, and advertising services—lead their respective markets, thanks to cutting-edge advances in artificial intelligence.

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) and Taiwan’s HTC recently agreed to invest $250 million to strengthen their position in XR (extended reality) technology. The agreement follows Google’s December release of the Android XR platform, which was created in collaboration with Qualcomm and Samsung Electronics. The purchase aligns with Google’s development of the Android XR platform for smart glasses and headsets.

Stifel analyst Mark Kelley increased his price target for GOOGL stock from $200 to $225 while keeping the shares at a buy rating. Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) is still the “dominant leader in search and ad-supported online video,” says Kelley, who also noted that the company has a “long-term growth opportunity” in both AI and digital advertising. Additionally, Stifel appreciates that the company offers a variety of business tools, such as AI-powered advertising solutions, in addition to Google Gemini, the company’s flagship AI assistant.

Qualivian Investment Partners stated the following regarding Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) in its Q3 2024 investor letter:

“Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL): Q2 2024 revenues and EPS beat expectations, with total revenues growing 14%, Search ad revenues growing 14%, YouTube ads growing 13%, and Google Cloud revenues growing 29%. Revenue growth in the quarter constituted a continued sequential improvement from earlier quarters in the year, suggesting a continued rebound in Alphabet’s core business except for YouTube ad revenues, which missed expectations and showed deceleration in the growth rate as compared to Q1 when it grew 21%. Operating margins improved by 310 bps vs. the same quarter last year.

Management continued to highlight developments with their generative AI program, which is seen as a foundational platform with opportunities across their businesses but particularly in search and cloud. However, this comes with material capex investment well ahead of the expected economic benefits from Gen AI, and the level of spending is leading investors to worry about the ROI on that spend for Alphabet, as well as the other hyperscalers (Microsoft and Amazon). We continue to have confidence in Alphabet’s ability to generate strong revenue, earnings, and cash flow growth well above the S&P 500’s in the years to come and view it as a core holding for the long term.”