Alphabet Inc. offers various products and platforms in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia-Pacific, Canada, and Latin America. It operates through Google Services, Google Cloud, and Other Bets segments. The Google Services segment provides products and services, including ads, Android, Chrome, devices, Gmail, Google Drive, Google Maps, Google Photos, Google Play, Search, and YouTube. It is also involved in the sale of apps and in-app purchases and digital content in the Google Play and YouTube; and devices, as well as in the provision of YouTube consumer subscription services. The Google Cloud segment offers infrastructure, cybersecurity, databases, analytics, AI, and other services; Google Workspace that include cloud-based communication and collaboration tools for enterprises, such as Gmail, Docs, Drive, Calendar, and Meet; and other services for enterprise customers. The Other Bets segment sells healthcare-related and internet services. The company was incorporated in 1998 and is headquartered in Mountain View, California.

Alphabet looks like a company with very strong operational efficiency, but with a valuation that already clearly reflects the quality of the business. A P/E ratio of 16.68 looks moderate and close to the industry median, so based on earnings the stock does not appear overheated. At the same time, a P/S of 9.75, P/B of 6.34, and especially a P/FCF of 81.63 are materially above industry benchmarks, indicating an expensive valuation relative to revenue, book value, and free cash flow. This is an important limiting factor for upside, despite the high quality of the business. The company’s strength lies in its outstanding profitability: ROE of 38.98, ROA of 35.41, ROI of 45.10, and return on tangible equity of 56.80 are at very high levels and notably above the sector median. Margins are also strong: gross margin of 60.90, operating margin of 33.11, and net profit margin of 54.75 confirm the company’s ability to monetize scale and maintain high profitability. The trends in revenue, gross profit, EBITDA, and operating income over recent years are generally positive, which supports the fundamental valuation. The balance sheet looks solid: cash on hand of $126.84 billion and a current ratio of 1.92 provide a good liquidity cushion, while debt/equity of 0.15 remains low. However, the rise in long-term debt to $98.17 billion and the increase in total liabilities warrant attention, although against the backdrop of enormous equity and cash positions this is not yet critical. The dividend yield of 0.07% has virtually no impact on the investment case and is not a factor that meaningfully supports the shareholder return profile. Overall, the fundamentals remain very strong, but the high valuation relative to revenue and cash flow limits the potential for multiple expansion. For an investor, this is more a story of quality and sustainable growth than of clear undervaluation, so only a modest conservative downward adjustment to the forecast is warranted.

Alphabet Inc.

Сильный индекс, незначительно упал. Быки в растерянности.

Strong index, slightly down. The bulls are confused.

Слабый индекс, значительно вырос. Рынок не поддерживает быков.

Weak index, significantly up. The market does not support the bulls.

Средний индекс, значительно вырос. Увеличился приток средств в лонги.

Medium index, significantly up. The inflow of funds into longs has increased.

Alphabet demonstrates strong profitability and steady growth, but its expensive P/S, P/B, and P/FCF multiples limit revaluation potential.

Key Points
This tech player has seen its valuation tumble to bargain levels.
The company offers investors the stability of a well-established business plus a fresh growth opportunity.
Nvidia and Micron Technology have been among the biggest winners for investors in the artificial intelligence (AI) space. That's because of their leading positions in two of the key areas driving the AI boom -- compute and the memory needed for AI operations. Nvidia is the world's No. 1 designer of graphics processing units (GPUs), high-powered chips driving key AI tasks like training and inference. And Micron is one of the top makers of the memory and storage chips essential to AI.
All of this has been reflected in these companies' earnings as well as in stock price performance. Nvidia's revenue soared in the triple digits to $96 billion, and Micron's also climbed in the triple digits to $41 billion in the latest quarter. As for the shares, they've advanced 900% and 1,300%, respectively, over five years.
Missed Nvidia in 2009? This Rare Signal Is Flashing Again. In 2009, a "Double Down" signal flashed for a little-known chipmaker called Nvidia. For the first time in years, that same "Total Conviction" signal is flashing for a company 1/100th the size of Nvidia. Continue »
Though these companies are clear AI winners, moving forward, another player may rise to the top. In fact, this dirt cheap "Magnificent Seven" stock could be the biggest winner of the trillion-dollar AI race. Here's the case.
Image source: Getty Images.
The "Magnificent Seven" and AI
So, first, a quick look at the stocks known as the "Magnificent Seven." This is a group of top tech players with a track record of earnings growth, and each plays a role in the AI space. They are: Nvidia, Amazon, Apple, Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL), Meta Platforms, Microsoft, and Tesla. These companies have powered the S&P 500 through this three-year bull market, helping the index reach record levels. Investors like these tech giants for the businesses they've built over time -- and the fresh growth potential AI brings.
In recent weeks and months, some of these companies have seen their valuations dip, and considering their solid long-term prospects, this offers investors a buying opportunity. But one in particular stands out. This company is the cheapest of the "Magnificent Seven" right now, and it also may be the biggest winner of the AI race.
I'm talking about Alphabet, a company that's trading at only 15x forward earnings estimates today.
That price level, along with the company's earnings performance over time, offers investors a good reason to buy the stock. And its prospects in AI reinforce the argument.
An internet search giant
You might know Alphabet best for its dominance in something most of us use daily: internet search. Alphabet's Google Search holds more than 90% of this market, and this is the key to the company's revenue strength. Advertisers turn to the Google platform to place ads to reach us, their target audience. This has resulted in billions of dollars in revenue for Alphabet, with growth quarter after quarter. In the latest period, Google ad revenue climbed 14% to $81 billion. That's on $119 billion in total revenue for the company.
Now, let's turn to the AI opportunity, which is already delivering for Alphabet. The company, through its Google Cloud business, is strongly present in the space. Alphabet has developed the Gemini family of large language models and offers this and other AI products and services to Google Cloud customers. This has resulted in explosive growth and the need to heavily invest in infrastructure to keep up with demand.
Why Alphabet stock has slipped
In fact, if you're wondering why Alphabet's shares have dipped over the past few months, it's due to investors' concerns about the pace of AI spending -- this has weighed on other tech companies involved in the build-out, too. So far, however, we've seen that much investment by Alphabet and others has been to serve current demand. And forecasts for AI market growth remain strong. So, though some risk remains, the information we have so far suggests this spending is necessary and will set these companies up for long-term success.
Alphabet's AI efforts are also helping boost the advertising profit engine: As the company applies Gemini to its Google platform to make it better for users and advertisers, advertisers are likely to spend more here.
Why will Alphabet be the biggest winner of the AI race? Nvidia and Micron win when they sell their products to customers. Alphabet, as a provider of a wide range of AI and a user of AI too, is positioned for success regardless of which chip designer or memory maker gains more market share. As long as customers continue to turn to AI, Alphabet is likely to score a major victory in this hot market.
Should you buy stock in Alphabet right now?
Before you buy stock in Alphabet, consider this:
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Adria Cimino has positions in Amazon and Tesla. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta Platforms, Micron Technology, Microsoft, Nvidia, and Tesla. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Not Nvidia. Not Micron. This Dirt Cheap "Magnificent Seven" Stock Could Be the Biggest Winner of the Trillion-Dollar AI Race – Here’s the Case.

Key Points
Google entered into a 396 MW power purchase agreement with Fervo Energy for geothermal energy.
The companies have been working together for years as Fervo develops its Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS) technology.
The agreement gives Google the option to add an additional 600 MW of capacity by 2030.
The incredible advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) have spurred an investment supercycle, and technology companies are spending cash like never before to build data centers. However, they're hitting roadblocks, notably power. With grid connections lagging and residential customers wary of footing the bill for soaring energy costs, these tech giants are hunting for innovative power solutions to keep their data centers humming.
Google, a subsidiary of Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOG)(NASDAQ: GOOGL), has teamed up with Fervo Energy (NASDAQ: FRVO) in a groundbreaking partnership to harness clean geothermal energy. After launching a pilot project a few years ago, they're taking things to the next level with a 396-megawatt (MW) power purchase agreement.
Missed Nvidia in 2009? This Rare Signal Is Flashing Again. In 2009, a "Double Down" signal flashed for a little-known chipmaker called Nvidia. For the first time in years, that same "Total Conviction" signal is flashing for a company 1/100th the size of Nvidia. Continue »
This deal helps ensure that Google's power needs are met with reliable, clean energy and puts Fervo Energy on the map. Here's why it could be a game changer for Fervo, and what comes next for the energy stock.
Fervo and Google have been working together for a few years on geothermal power
Google and Fervo's partnership goes back to 2021, when the two companies collaborated on Project Red. This was Fervo's commercial proof-of-concept pilot, which successfully demonstrated the efficacy of its Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS) technology.
In June 2024, Fervo entered into a 115 MW power purchase agreement (PPA) with Google and NV Energy, enabling Google to bring new geothermal capacity online while shielding ratepayers from the costs. The partnership expanded further when Fervo committed to developing 3 gigawatts (GW) of geothermal projects.
On Sept. 1, Fervo signed a 396-MW PPA with Google, the largest enhanced geothermal PPA to date. Fervo will supply energy from its Cape Station development in Utah and aims to deliver power by 2028. Google also has an agreement to expand its offtake by 600 MW, bringing the agreement's total potential capacity to roughly 1 GW by June 2030.
How Fervo's EGS technology works
Central to this agreement is Fervo's EGS technology. Traditional geothermal energy relies on finding naturally occurring sites with all the ingredients needed to produce it. These are hard to find and generally only exist near active tectonic boundaries and volcanoes. Fervo's EGS uses horizontal drilling technology to generate geothermal energy wherever you can drill deep enough to reach hot rock.
The agreement with Google validates Fervo's EGS technology and demonstrates its readiness to meet the 24/7 baseload power demands of AI data centers. It brings the company's total contracted power sales to about 1.1 GW and provides visibility into future earnings from contracted revenue.
What's next for Fervo?
Fervo still has a lot of heavy lifting to do. As part of Phase I, the company aims to deliver around 100 MW of power, with commercial operations beginning later this year or early 2027. In Phase II, the company will deliver another 400 MW. To do so, it will use its GeoBlock architecture to build eight self-contained 50 MW generation blocks.
By using 50 MW modules, Fervo can design and engineer one block and mass-produce the remainder. This lets it reduce manufacturing costs and build Phase II simultaneously, so it can deliver power in about two years. Commercial operations for Phase II are projected to begin in 2028.
Does this news make Fervo stock a buy?
Fervo is a newly public company, having made its stock market debut on May 12. In the process, the company raised about $2.2 billion. This capital is crucial, as it will help the company fund its expansion without tapping high-yield debt markets.
Management projects the company will incur $850 million to $900 million in capital expenditures over the next 12 months. They also project that the company will post net losses over the next several years as Fervo invests in and expands its infrastructure.
Fervo's deal with Google is a big step forward and brings it closer to operating commercially. That said, the company will continue to burn cash as it scales operations to meet the agreement's terms.
Investors will want to watch Fervo to see whether it can deliver initial power from its Phase I on time, which could be a huge catalyst for the stock. Until then, most investors are best off keeping Fervo Energy on a watch list and monitoring its progress in the coming months before buying.
Should you buy stock in Fervo Energy right now?
Before you buy stock in Fervo Energy, 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 Fervo Energy 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 $417,413!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,341,294!*
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*Stock Advisor returns as of September 12, 2026.
Courtney Carlsen has positions in Alphabet. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Google's Historic 396 MW Clean Energy Deal Just Changed the Game for 1 AI Power Play

Key Points
The AI boom is real.
Customer commitments reduce near-term risk, but they don't eliminate long-term uncertainty.
The key question isn't whether AI will transform the economy. It's whether the incremental dollars invested in AI infrastructure will generate an attractive incremental return.
$760 billion. That's roughly how much Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN), Alphabet, Microsoft, and Meta Platforms are expected to spend on capital expenditures in 2026.
The number is staggering. It's also growing rapidly. The four companies spent roughly $413 billion in 2025, meaning their combined capital spending could jump by more than 80% in just one year.
Missed Nvidia in 2009? This Rare Signal Is Flashing Again. In 2009, a "Double Down" signal flashed for a little-known chipmaker called Nvidia. For the first time in years, that same "Total Conviction" signal is flashing for a company 1/100th the size of Nvidia. Continue »
Much of that spending is going toward the infrastructure needed for artificial intelligence: data centers, servers, GPUs, custom chips, networking equipment, and power capacity.
The bull case is easy to understand. AI demand is exploding and cloud providers can't build capacity quickly enough. But there is another possibility investors should consider. What if the industry is building too much capacity?
That's the risk I think investors should be watching.
The numbers are difficult to ignore
The explosion in demand for AI is real. We don't have to look far to understand that -- just think about how much we engage with ChatGPT to answer our questions, or how much we rely on Gemini or Claude to solve our work problems.
So, there is no doubt that companies must invest to provide these services. But $760 billion for four companies is staggering. In fact, Goldman Sachs forecasts AI investments will exceed $1 trillion in 2026.
And strategically, it makes sense for these big tech companies to invest heavily to gain market share in the AI computing industry. From management's perspective, sitting still could be far more dangerous than spending aggressively. So the companies are racing to build. And that's where the risk begins.
Customer commitments don't eliminate the risk
One of the strongest arguments supporting this spending is that much of the infrastructure already has customers waiting for it.
Amazon, for example, says customer commitments back a substantial portion of its 2026 AWS capital expenditure. Microsoft similarly points to its enormous customer demand.
That's reassuring. But investors should be careful about what these commitments actually mean: Customers want the capacity today. They don't necessarily tell us how much capacity those customers will want five years from now.
That's an important distinction. AI is developing extraordinarily quickly. Models are becoming more efficient. Hardware is improving. Businesses are still figuring out which AI applications will generate genuine economic value. A company can sign a multiyear commitment today and still find that its computing requirements change dramatically over time.
The same thing happened throughout previous technology cycles: Demand forecasts made during periods of rapid adoption can look very different once the technology matures.
A five-year contract may provide visibility. It doesn't provide certainty about the ultimate economics of the AI industry.
The biggest question is asset utilization
Imagine a hotel owner building 1,000 rooms because demand is growing rapidly. If occupancy reaches 95%, the investment looks brilliant. If occupancy eventually falls to 50%, the same building becomes a capital-allocation problem.
AI infrastructure works similarly. Companies are spending enormous amounts of money today to ensure they have enough computing capacity tomorrow. The crucial variable is how intensively that capacity gets used -- and at what price.
If AI demand continues to scale sustainably in the next decade, the returns could be spectacular. But if computing becomes dramatically cheaper, AI models become more efficient, or customers discover that they don't need as much infrastructure as expected, the economics could change.
But the bull case is still powerful
None of this means the AI infrastructure boom is a fake. In fact, there is considerable evidence that the demand is real.
For instance, AWS reported a 37% rise in revenue in the second quarter of 2026 to a $169 billion annualized revenue run rate, the fastest growth in 18 quarters. Similarly, Google Cloud saw revenue surge 82% to $24.8 billion in the same quarter.
In other words, these big tech companies aren't making these investments from weak financial positions. They are reinvesting their profits into the capex, expecting to generate even more profits in the future.
The only question left is whether the investment will earn a sufficiently high return over time.
What does it mean for investors?
I wouldn't bet against Amazon, Microsoft, Alphabet, or Meta simply because they're spending hundreds of billions of dollars on AI. These companies have some of the strongest balance sheets, technology platforms, and customer relationships in the world.
But I also wouldn't assume that every dollar of AI capital expenditure will automatically generate an attractive return. In other words, this is ultimately a capital-allocation issue.
Investors should ask the most important question here: Will the incremental dollars invested in AI infrastructure generate an attractive incremental return five or 10 years from now? That's the number investors can't see yet, but should closely track in the coming quarters.
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The $760 Billion AI Risk That Nobody Is Talking About. But Should.

Key Points
Alphabet's second-quarter revenue rose 24% year over year, up from 14% growth in the year-ago quarter.
Surging capital spending swung free cash flow to a negative $5.9 billion in the second quarter.
After a four-month slide, the stock's forward price-to-earnings ratio has dropped to about 22.
Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL)(NASDAQ:GOOG) entered September with an unusual streak behind it: May, June, July, and August each closed lower than the month before, the stock's longest run of monthly declines since 2015.
Shares trade around $337 as of this writing, and they sit about 18% below the 52-week high of $408.61 they set in mid-May. Even after the decline, the Google parent is worth about $4.1 trillion.
Missed Nvidia in 2009? This Rare Signal Is Flashing Again. In 2009, a "Double Down" signal flashed for a little-known chipmaker called Nvidia. For the first time in years, that same "Total Conviction" signal is flashing for a company 1/100th the size of Nvidia. Continue »
The slide would be easier to understand if the business were struggling, but it isn't. Alphabet's second-quarter report, delivered in late July, showed revenue growth accelerating and profit margins widening.
But the same report showed something investors aren't used to seeing from this company. Free cash flow turned negative, as capital spending doubled from a year earlier in support of the company's artificial intelligence (AI) build-out.
Image source: The Motley Fool.
Growth isn't the problem
Showing how the business has sped up, Alphabet's second-quarter revenue rose 24% year over year to $119.8 billion -- an acceleration from 14% growth in the year-ago period and about 22% in the first quarter of 2026. Profits grew even faster. Operating income climbed 30% year over year, and the company's operating margin widened from 32% a year earlier to 34%.
The growth was broad-based, too. Google Search & other revenue rose 17% year over year, and YouTube ads revenue rose 13%. And Google Cloud revenue jumped an impressive 82% to $24.8 billion, with the segment's operating income roughly tripling to $8.8 billion.
I think the cloud profit figure is the most important number in the report. It means Google Cloud turned about 36% of its revenue into operating income, up from about 21% a year earlier. In other words, the AI capacity Alphabet keeps building is turning into revenue quickly, and at much better margins than the segment managed a year ago.
Clearly, demand isn't the issue.
Negative free cash flow
The issue is what it costs to serve that demand. Alphabet's capital expenditures were $44.9 billion in the second quarter -- double the year-ago figure, after step-ups in each of the three quarters in between.
Free cash flow went the other way. Alphabet generated $24.5 billion of it in last year's third quarter and $24.6 billion in the fourth. That fell to $10.1 billion in this year's first quarter, and the second quarter came in at negative $5.9 billion. In other words, a business that was producing about $25 billion of spare cash a quarter is, for now, consuming cash instead.
And the spending is still climbing. Management raised its full-year guidance for capital expenditures to a range of $195 billion to $205 billion, up from an earlier $180 billion to $190 billion. It also said it continues to expect capital expenditures to rise significantly in 2027.
"[W]e expect the free cash flow will remain under pressure driven by our investments in technical infrastructure," chief financial officer Anat Ashkenazi said on Alphabet's second-quarter earnings call.
How the company pays for all of this has changed, too. Operating cash flow rose 41% year over year to $39.1 billion in the second quarter, but even that can't cover a quarter's capital spending anymore.
Alphabet spent about $28 billion buying back its own stock in the first half of 2025. In the first half of 2026, it bought back none.
Instead, the company raised $49.6 billion in June by selling new stock, including a mandatory convertible preferred stock that pays a 6.25% dividend. And it ended June with $98.2 billion of long-term debt, more than double where it started the year.
Time to buy?
The stock's price-to-earnings ratio of about 17 makes shares look almost cheap. That figure is misleading, though. Reported earnings have been inflated by unrealized gains on Alphabet's investments, including a $99 billion gain on equity securities that boosted second-quarter earnings per share by $6.26 all by itself.
Based on what analysts expect the company to earn next year, Alphabet's forward price-to-earnings ratio is about 22 -- down from about 27 on those same expected earnings at the stock's mid-May high. For a company growing revenue 24% year over year with a widening operating margin, I'd argue that's a reasonable price.
So, should you buy Alphabet stock right now? I'd consider it.
The four-month sell-off has repriced the stock while the business has kept accelerating, and Google Cloud's improving profitability suggests the heavy AI spending is already earning a return.
Of course, the spending could stay ahead of the payoff for a while. Management expects higher depreciation expense from the new infrastructure to keep pressuring profits, and the capital budget is set to grow again in 2027. If Google Cloud's growth cools sharply while the spending keeps climbing, I would rethink my view. We aren't close to that today.
Should you buy stock 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 $409,917!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,341,724!*
Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 942% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 211% for the S&P 500. Don't miss the latest top 10 list, available with Stock Advisor, and join an investing community built by individual investors for individual investors.
*Stock Advisor returns as of September 12, 2026.
Daniel Sparks and his clients do not have positions in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Founded in 1993 in Alexandria, VA., by brothers David and Tom Gardner, The Motley Fool is a multimedia financial-services company dedicated to building the world's greatest investment community. Reaching millions of people each month through its website, books, newspaper column, radio show, television appearances, and subscription newsletter services, The Motley Fool champions shareholder values and advocates tirelessly for the individual investor. The company's name was taken from Shakespeare, whose wise fools both instructed and amused, and could speak the truth to the king -- without getting their heads lopped off.

Should You Buy Alphabet Stock Right Now?

Key Points
Nike's turnaround is progressing at a sluggish pace.
The current operating environment remains challenging, as Nike doesn't have a clear path to return to growth.
Alphabet replacing Verizon in the Dow makes Nike the lowest-weighted component.
S&P Global (NYSE: SPGI) announced that Nike (NYSE: NKE) will be removed from the S&P 100, effective Sept. 21, as part of its quarterly rebalancing. Honeywell Aerospace, Simon Property Group, and Colgate-Palmolive will also be removed, while Dell Technologies, Palo Alto Networks, Arista Networks, and Sandisk will be added.
Here's why Nike is being removed from the S&P 100, whether it presents an ominous warning for its potential deletion from the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJINDICES: ^DJI), and whether the blue chip dividend stock is a good buy now.
Missed Nvidia in 2009? This Rare Signal Is Flashing Again. In 2009, a "Double Down" signal flashed for a little-known chipmaker called Nvidia. For the first time in years, that same "Total Conviction" signal is flashing for a company 1/100th the size of Nvidia. Continue »
Justifying Nike's S&P 100 removal
The S&P 100 isn't the 100 largest S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) components by market cap. Rather, it's a curated sector that represents blue chip companies across stock market sectors and industries with a focus on megacap and large-cap behemoths.
Nike has remained in the index due to its industry leadership, not its size. Nike is now the 213th-highest-weighted company in the S&P 500. It's also the lowest-ranked component in the iShares S&P 500 100 ETF -- which uses the S&P 100 as a benchmark.
Nike's removal makes sense given that its stock price continues to fall and its industry leadership isn't what it used to be. What's more, Dell, Palo Alto, Arista, and Sandisk have all gone up so much that they are all in the top 50 in S&P 500 components by market cap. Nike's industry leadership premium no longer justifies its inclusion in the S&P 100 over companies that are worth several times more and contributing to the S&P 500's gains, whereas Nike has been a drag on the index.
As you can see in the chart, Nike is at its lowest level in more than a decade, with revenue and earnings down in recent years and operating margins plummeting from the low- to mid-high teens pre-pandemic to under 9% today. There's a laundry list of issues at Nike, including supply chain and corporate strategy blunders, slowing growth in China, tariffs, domestic consumer spending pressures, and increased competition from formidable rivals.
Even with these issues, it's important to remember that investors care more about where a company could be headed than where it has been. Investors may take one glance at the stock's price action and assume Nike is a no-brainer buy. But Nike hasn't returned to growth, and its runway for doing so is shrouded in dense uncertainty.
As part of its Win Now turnaround plan, Nike has implemented cost cuts and changed its strategy to better balance wholesale and direct-to-consumer. For fiscal 2026, which ended on May 31, wholesale revenue grew 4% year over year, with double-digit growth in North America. But many of the challenges that weighed on the business remain -- namely, competition, current operating trends in consumer discretionary spending, and the China slowdown.
Better Dow candidates
With Alphabet replacing Verizon Communications in the Dow this past June, Nike is now the lowest-ranked component in the price-weighted index -- putting it on the hot seat for the next stock most likely to be replaced. With just 30 components, the Dow is more exclusive than the S&P 100, Nasdaq-100, or the S&P 500. The Dow has become increasingly tech-stock-focused in recent years to reflect the evolving economy -- adding Nvidia and Amazon in 2024, and now Alphabet this year. However, there are massive companies that could muscle their way into the Dow, such as Broadcom, Meta Platforms, Tesla, Space Exploration Technologies, or maybe even Tesla and SpaceX combined if they merge.
Although the Dow has traditionally included industry-leading dividend-paying companies, the dividend-paying aspect of the criteria seems to carry less weight today than in years past, as Alphabet and Nvidia both yield less than 0.5%, and Amazon doesn't even pay a dividend.
Nike has raised its dividend for 24 consecutive years and yields a sizable 4.3%. But that payout could be under pressure if Nike's dividend expense begins to absorb too much of its free cash flow.
Nike will be removed from the Dow
Nike could be a good buy for investors who are confident in its brands and management's ability to execute a successful turnaround. And if the broader stock market were selling off, perhaps Nike would be given more grace.
But the major indexes, including the S&P 500 and the Dow, are hovering around all-time highs -- shortening the leash for underperforming stocks like Nike, especially now that it is closer to the median S&P 500 component weight and makes up a mere 0.4% of the Dow.
At this point, I think it's only a matter of time before Nike is removed from the storied Dow Jones index. And most investors may be better off waiting for concrete signals of a sustained turnaround before buying the stock.
Should you buy stock in Nike right now?
Before you buy stock in Nike, 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 Nike 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 $409,917!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,341,724!*
Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 942% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 211% for the S&P 500. Don't miss the latest top 10 list, available with Stock Advisor, and join an investing community built by individual investors for individual investors.
*Stock Advisor returns as of September 12, 2026.
Daniel Foelber has positions in Broadcom, Nike, and Nvidia. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, Amazon, Arista Networks, Broadcom, Colgate-Palmolive, Honeywell Aerospace, Meta Platforms, Nike, Nvidia, S&P Global, and Tesla. The Motley Fool recommends Palo Alto Networks and Verizon Communications. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Nike Is Being Deleted From the S&P 100. Is Its Seat in the Dow Jones Industrial Average in Jeopardy?

Key Points
Some tech giants already have Anthropic stakes, which you can get exposure to by investing in those companies.
The same brokers that offered pre-IPO SpaceX shares will likely offer pre-IPO Anthropic shares.
Investors can follow where Anthropic is spending money to discover new opportunities.
Anthropic is poised to be one of the hottest IPO stocks. After Space Exploration Technologies, or SpaceX, jumped to a $2 trillion valuation, investors are wondering what's possible for Anthropic later this year.
However, you don't have to wait until Anthropic's IPO to get exposure to the stock. Investors have two creative routes to boost their exposure to the leading AI company before its shares become publicly available.
Missed Nvidia in 2009? This Rare Signal Is Flashing Again. In 2009, a "Double Down" signal flashed for a little-known chipmaker called Nvidia. For the first time in years, that same "Total Conviction" signal is flashing for a company 1/100th the size of Nvidia. Continue »
Invest in companies that have stakes in Anthropic
Some of the largest tech companies have beaten retail investors to the punch. Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOG) (NASDAQ: GOOGL), Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN), and Salesforce (NYSE: CRM) are some of the companies that have invested in Anthropic. Their stakes in the AI giant are so large that they actually influence each company's earnings results.
Investors also have to assess the main company before following this strategy. Alphabet, Amazon, and Salesforce all have catalysts and risks that go well beyond their Anthropic stakes. This strategy offers limited exposure to Anthropic and isn't nearly the same thing as owning shares directly. However, it's something investors can do right now instead of waiting for IPO shares to become available.
Open a brokerage account with the right company
More brokerage accounts have allowed investors to buy shares of IPO companies just before their IPO dates. Many investors took advantage of this with SpaceX, and the firms that supported pre-IPO purchases of SpaceX shares are likely to do the same for Anthropic shares.
You can only buy these shares in a regular brokerage account instead of a retirement plan. Furthermore, you may have to fulfill minimum balance requirements or make a minimum purchase to receive shares. If the pre-IPO is overbooked, there is no guarantee your order will go through.
Follow Anthropic's money
The final creative way to get exposure to Anthropic is to follow its money. The company has committed more than $100 billion to Amazon Web Services, and it has also been aggressively buying AI chips.
As Anthropic's revenue grows, investors can expect more of its capital to flow into key AI infrastructure and components. For instance, the company signed a 20-year lease with TeraWulf (NASDAQ: WULF) for a 401-megawatt data center site. These types of deals may be more common as Anthropic's AI capacity needs soar.
Multiple stocks are set to benefit from Anthropic's growth. These same companies may also have exposure to rising AI capacity needs for OpenAI, hyperscalers, AI labs, and various start-ups. Buying those stocks while they have low market caps can potentially unlock the path to sizable gains.
Should you buy stock 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 $409,917!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,341,724!*
Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 942% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 211% for the S&P 500. Don't miss the latest top 10 list, available with Stock Advisor, and join an investing community built by individual investors for individual investors.
*Stock Advisor returns as of September 12, 2026.
Marc Guberti has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, Amazon, and Salesforce. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Founded in 1993 in Alexandria, VA., by brothers David and Tom Gardner, The Motley Fool is a multimedia financial-services company dedicated to building the world's greatest investment community. Reaching millions of people each month through its website, books, newspaper column, radio show, television appearances, and subscription newsletter services, The Motley Fool champions shareholder values and advocates tirelessly for the individual investor. The company's name was taken from Shakespeare, whose wise fools both instructed and amused, and could speak the truth to the king -- without getting their heads lopped off.

3 Ways to Invest in Anthropic Pre-IPO

Key Points
Nvidia's massive growth rate will widen the gap between it and other companies.
Apple stock looks overvalued.
At the time of this writing, the three largest companies in the world are Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) at a $5.4 trillion market cap, Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) at $4.6 trillion, and Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOG) (NASDAQ: GOOGL) at $4 trillion. There's still a decent gap between Alphabet and fourth-place Microsoft at $3.65 trillion, and an even larger gap to fifth-place Amazon at $2.7 trillion. But of the three largest companies in the world, which one makes the most sense to buy now?
I think there's a pretty clear-cut answer, as one stands out above the rest as a buy. But there's also an obvious stock in the top three that I think investors should avoid.
Missed Nvidia in 2009? This Rare Signal Is Flashing Again. In 2009, a "Double Down" signal flashed for a little-known chipmaker called Nvidia. For the first time in years, that same "Total Conviction" signal is flashing for a company 1/100th the size of Nvidia. Continue »
Two of these stocks have clear upside in the near future
Nvidia has risen to the position of the world's largest company thanks to huge demand for its GPU computing units. Artificial Intelligence (AI) demand appears insatiable, with little chance of a letdown. The AI hyperscalers are spending hundreds of billions right now, and Nvidia estimates that the big five will spend nearly $800 billion on data center capital expenditures this year alone. Next year, that figure is projected to rise to $1.3 trillion. That's enough demand for Nvidia to guide for 70% revenue growth next year, easily making it one of the fastest-growing companies in the world, let alone among the top three.
Alphabet is one of those big spenders, and estimates it will spend around $200 billion on data center capital expenditures this year. However, all of that spending is paying off. Alphabet is seeing huge success from its AI platform and is also seamlessly integrating AI overviews into Google Search to maintain its place as the top internet search tool in the world. Alphabet is also running a thriving cloud computing business in Google Cloud. This division is a direct beneficiary of increased computing capacity, and its revenue skyrocketed 82% last quarter. Alphabet has a lot of growth ahead (Wall Street projects 23% growth in 2027), and it's investing to ensure it can capture market share during this critical period.
Apple's growth case is a bit less certain. It must continue to sell tech hardware to a stretched consumer while fighting off rising component prices, specifically in the memory chip space. Apple recently announced several new products, including its latest iPhone generation, which got a $100 price hike. The consumer will need to accept this, or they may decide to stick with the already popular iPhone 17. Furthermore, there still isn't much headway on Apple's AI products, which is a glaring gap in Apple's lineup. Lastly, Wall Street analysts only forecast 10% growth for 2027, which would be significantly slower than the expected growth rates of the other two tech giants.
I think the growth case for Alphabet and Nvidia is far greater than Apple's; however, the market isn't valuing the stocks like that.
Apple's premium valuation doesn't make sense
Apple has long maintained a premium over many stocks in the market due to its excellent execution. However, it now has a new CEO and is dealing with a major issue in soaring memory chip prices. I think this should warrant Apple losing a bit of its premium, but that's not what the market has done.
Alphabet has skewed earnings per share thanks to massive gains on some of its investments, so I'm using the operating price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio to value the stocks.
Apple has a premium over these other two stocks, despite expecting to grow at a much slower rate next year. When next year's forward earnings projections are used, it also reveals a major gap in valuations.
Nvidia's massive growth rate makes it look super cheap when next year's earnings are used, as does Alphabet's. Apple is still priced at a major premium even with next year's growth rate accounted for.
This steers me in one direction: to buy Nvidia stock. I think it's by far the best stock of the three to own, and will provide investors huge returns over the next few years.
Should you buy stock in Nvidia right now?
Before you buy stock in Nvidia, 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 Nvidia 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 $409,917!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,341,724!*
Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 942% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 211% for the S&P 500. Don't miss the latest top 10 list, available with Stock Advisor, and join an investing community built by individual investors for individual investors.
*Stock Advisor returns as of September 11, 2026.
Keithen Drury has positions in Alphabet, Amazon, Microsoft, and Nvidia. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, and Nvidia. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Apple, Microsoft, and Nvidia Top the List of Largest Companies by Market Cap. Here's the One I'm Buying Now.

(RTTNews) - Google under Alphabet Inc. (GOOG) is rolling out a redesigned interface for passes in Google Wallet on Android, following a homepage update that introduced search in May.
The new design expands passes to fill the entire screen and uses the brand's primary colour as the background, replacing the previous smaller card-style layout. Users can scroll down to access actions such as calling associated phone numbers and visiting a company's website. Settings have also been reorganised, allowing users to edit a pass nickname and manage how it is used.
The redesign covers loyalty cards and boarding passes, including manually created passes, while transit cards retain the older interface. Google has also included a rewind icon in the top-right corner that lets users return to the previous design.
The updated interface is now seeing a wider rollout, although brighter branded backgrounds may be more noticeable when using passes at night.

Google Wallet Rolls Out Full-Screen Redesign For Passes On Android

Key Points
Selling AMD at a 33% gain in 2004 felt like skill, but the stock would have soared from $15 to $500 per stub in 22 years.
Owning one bank, one carmaker, and one oil company is not diversification if you can't explain any of their businesses.
Time and compounding do most of the work, and the holding period matters more than the ticker.
There is a TD Ameritrade statement in my office from the mid-2000s that I keep meaning to throw away. I found it again last week. Instead of tossing it, I read the whole thing.
I was 29 in 2004 and buying stocks in whatever amounts I could scrape together. I grabbed 10 shares of Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ: AMD) at about $15 each. People made fun of this buy around the water cooler, because Intel would surely crush the smaller challenger like a bug. I got out at $20 with a 33% gain in six months!
Missed Nvidia in 2009? This Rare Signal Is Flashing Again. In 2009, a "Double Down" signal flashed for a little-known chipmaker called Nvidia. For the first time in years, that same "Total Conviction" signal is flashing for a company 1/100th the size of Nvidia. Continue »
But because the $150 trade worked, I learned the wrong lesson from it. Then I applied that misunderstanding dozens of times in the next couple of years. With a long-term mindset, that modest $150 AMD investment would be worth $5,000 as of Sept. 10, 2026 (despite spending a decade underwater).
The hall of fame nobody visits
There were tons of misfires. Movie Gallery rented videos in a decade that was actively canceling the concept of renting videos. Advance Nanotech and Harris & Harris looked great because in 2005, "nanotech" did to me what "AI" does to people now. Most of the poor investments are lost to the sands of time, saved statements notwithstanding.
Then there was my diversification phase, and I want to be precise about how dumb this was. For a couple of years, I decided that diversification meant owning one company each from a bunch of different industries. A bank, a carmaker, and an oil company would be a good start, even if I didn't understand their businesses. I just liked that the categories were different.
Somewhere in there, I also tried options and short-selling, which is a bit like taking up recreational chainsaw juggling before you learn to juggle tennis balls. On the upside, I never risked much money in those experiments.
The boring answer, which is also the correct one
A few big winners more than made up for all the cash-burning losses.
My best bets were Alphabet, Netflix, and Intuitive Surgical. These picks actually made some fundamental sense. Alphabet's Google stood out as a durable winner from the start, when WebCrawler and AltaVista still felt modern. I wrote a deep dive on movie rentals in 2006, where Netflix was building distribution while Blockbuster was defending real estate. Intuitive Surgical's robots produced better patient outcomes than handheld scalpels.
The old me would have taken small profits and moved on. The real takeaway is that I learned to let the winners run for a long time. I still own all three, and each is up 1,000% or more.
Here is the annoying part. I did not need to pick those specific winners. The SPDR S&P 500 (NYSEMKT: SPY) had been sitting there since 1993, available to anyone with a brokerage account and a pulse. If I had just fed $300 per month into an automated SPY investment starting in 2005, that money would be worth about $300,000 today. That's $75,600 of cash contributions and roughly $220,000 of returns over 21 years. No stock research. No cleverness. Just showing up, including in 2008 and the COVID-19 lockdowns, when it looked like a mistake.
Time and compounding do the heavy lifting. Everything else is decoration. It took me an embarrassingly long time to figure that out, and I have an old paper statement in a drawer to prove it.
Should you buy stock in SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust right now?
Before you buy stock in SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust, 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 SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust 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 $409,917!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,341,724!*
Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 942% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 211% for the S&P 500. Don't miss the latest top 10 list, available with Stock Advisor, and join an investing community built by individual investors for individual investors.
*Stock Advisor returns as of September 11, 2026.
Anders Bylund has positions in Alphabet, Intel, Intuitive Surgical, and Netflix. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Advanced Micro Devices, Alphabet, Intel, Intuitive Surgical, and Netflix. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

1 Thing I Wish I'd Known About the Stock Market When I First Started Investing

Key Points
The Nasdaq Composite rose 1.3%, the S&P 500 1.1%, and the Dow 1.0% by late Friday morning.
Consumer prices rose 0.4% in August and 3.4% from a year ago, with core inflation a tenth hotter than expected.
Brent crude fell 2.7% but is still on pace for a weekly gain near 8%.
Friday marked 25 years since the Sept. 11 attacks, which closed U.S. markets for four days and remain the longest shutdown since the outbreak of World War I in 1914.
Inflation came in firm on Friday morning, rate-hike odds shot past 85%, and stocks went up. That sounds backward until you check the oil trade.
Missed Nvidia in 2009? This Rare Signal Is Flashing Again. In 2009, a "Double Down" signal flashed for a little-known chipmaker called Nvidia. For the first time in years, that same "Total Conviction" signal is flashing for a company 1/100th the size of Nvidia. Continue »
The Nasdaq Composite (NASDAQINDEX: ^IXIC) rose 1.3% as of 11:42 a.m. ET, the S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) added 1.1%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJINDICES: ^DJI) climbed 1%. Twenty-seven of the Dow's 30 components traded higher. That's a pretty solid uptick despite a bitter dose of economic data.
Falling oil prices outweighed a heavy inflation report
The Bureau of Labor Statistics issued a tough report on August's consumer prices. The CPI index rose 0.4% last month and 3.4% over the last year, right in line with economists' estimates. The core reading, which strips out food and energy, came in at 0.3% for the month, slightly above expectations. Gasoline alone accounted for more than a third of the headline increase, which tells you where the pricing pressure is coming from.
With these figures settled, traders are almost certain that the Fed will raise federal funds rates next week. CME Group's FedWatch tool put the odds of a quarter-point hike at the Sept. 15-16 meeting at 86.7%, up from 72.4% yesterday and 59.4% a week ago.
Stocks rose anyway, because oil finally reversed course. Brent Crude slid 2.7% to $104.68, though it's still on pace for a weekly increase of roughly 8%. The United States Oil Fund (NYSEMKT: USO) dropped 3.2%, the only significant decliner among the many exchange-traded funds I use for tracking daily market trends.
Almost everything else went up, as it tends to do when energy is getting cheaper. Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT) rose 2.1% and added 99 Dow points by itself. Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) climbed 2.5% and Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOG) (NASDAQ: GOOGL) gained 2.7%, which between them explained about half the Nasdaq Composite's move. The tech titans didn't have much news of their own today, so their gains are another reaction to the inflation and energy data.
Consumers are bracing, even if the market isn't
The Fed meets Tuesday and Wednesday next week. By now, a quarter-point hike seems like a formality, but there's still a voting process and chairman Kevin Warsh must make the announcement. Expectations don't count.
The more interesting question, as Principal Asset Management strategist Seema Shah put it on Friday, is whether one hike is enough after years of inflation running above target. Her answer is no. The market indexes seem to disagree, judging by today's gains.
A second data point deserves attention. The University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index fell 7.5% in September to 47.8, the second-lowest reading in the survey's history dating back to 1952. People expect inflation to continue rising, and the constrained oil shipping system isn't helping.
Friday was a good day. The week was not, and the Fed vote is coming on Wednesday. Stay tuned.
Should you buy stock in S&P 500 Index right now?
Before you buy stock in S&P 500 Index, 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 S&P 500 Index 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 $409,917!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,341,724!*
Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 942% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 211% for the S&P 500. Don't miss the latest top 10 list, available with Stock Advisor, and join an investing community built by individual investors for individual investors.
*Stock Advisor returns as of September 11, 2026.
Anders Bylund has positions in Alphabet. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, Apple, and Caterpillar. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.