GOOGL
Alphabet Inc.
GOOGL has the edge over NXST overall, supported by stronger valuation.
NXST
Nexstar Media Group, Inc.
NXST offers stronger modeled upside, but that advantage does not outweigh its weaker overall profile.
GOOGL Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Strong | |
| Under pressure | |
| Healthy |
GOOGL's revenue, profitability and balance sheet are currently healthy, but its cash flow is under pressure.
NXST Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Strong | |
| Healthy | |
| Strong | |
| Weak |
NXST's revenue, profitability and cash flow are currently healthy, but its balance sheet is weak.
GOOGL PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Current | 16x | $299 | — |
| Cheap | 20x | $378 | +27% |
| Forward | 22x | $299 | — |
| Fair | 26x | $497 | +66% |
| Expensive | 31x | $586 | +96% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
GOOGL has the edge over NXST in the historical PE scenario, which offers more potential upside but is not a forecast.
NXST PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 7.7x | $84.87 | -59% |
| Forward | 7.9x | $206 | — |
| Fair | 9.5x | $105 | -49% |
| Expensive | 17x | $182 | -11% |
| Current | 19x | $206 | — |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
NXST's PE is in its expensive range at 19x. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 7.9x next year's earnings, in its cheap range.
GOOGL Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly deteriorating | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strong growth | |
| Weakening | |
| Moderate | |
| Moderate |
Analysts expect strong earnings and revenue growth for GOOGL, but weaker profitability.
NXST Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Growth | |
| Strong growth | |
| Weakening | |
| Limited | |
| High |
NXST has the edge over GOOGL on the outlook, with more favorable valuation expectations.
GOOGL Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $13.89 | -28% |
| Q3 2026 | $19.16 | +89% |
| Q2 2026 | $19.91 | +112% |
| Q1 2026 | $13.11 | +46% |
| Q4 2025 | $10.81 | +34% |
| Q3 2025 | $10.13 | +34% |
| Q2 2025 | $9.38 | +35% |
| Q1 2025 | $8.96 | +37% |
| Q4 2024 | $8.04 | +39% |
GOOGL has the edge over NXST on earnings, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
NXST Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $26.18 | +137% |
| Q3 2026 | $11.05 | -31% |
| Q2 2026 | $5.27 | -72% |
| Q1 2026 | $4.72 | -76% |
| Q4 2025 | $3.00 | -86% |
| Q3 2025 | $16.01 | -7.5% |
| Q2 2025 | $19.14 | +50% |
| Q1 2025 | $19.62 | +66% |
| Q4 2024 | $21.41 | +122% |
NXST's earnings per share have fallen from their peak: $11.05 over the past year, against $25.00 in late 2022.
GOOGL Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $127.6B | +25% |
| Q2 2026 | $119.8B | +24% |
| Q1 2026 | $109.9B | +22% |
| Q4 2025 | $113.8B | +18% |
| Q3 2025 | $102.3B | +16% |
| Q2 2025 | $96.4B | +14% |
| Q1 2025 | $90.2B | +12% |
| Q4 2024 | $96.5B | +12% |
GOOGL has the edge over NXST on sales, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 32% | +1.3 points |
| Q2 2026 | 34% | +1.6 points |
| Q1 2026 | 36% | +2.2 points |
| Q4 2025 | 32% | -0.5 points |
| Q3 2025 | 31% | -1.8 points |
| Q2 2025 | 32% | +0.1 points |
| Q1 2025 | 34% | +2.3 points |
| Q4 2024 | 32% | +4.6 points |
GOOGL has the edge over NXST on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
NXST Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $2.1B | +78% |
| Q2 2026 | $2B | +62% |
| Q1 2026 | $1.4B | +13% |
| Q4 2025 | $1.3B | -13% |
| Q3 2025 | $1.2B | -12% |
| Q2 2025 | $1.2B | -3.2% |
| Q1 2025 | $1.2B | -3.9% |
| Q4 2024 | $1.5B | +14% |
NXST's revenue has picked up after four years of holding roughly level: $2.1B last quarter, up 78% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 25% | +10 points |
| Q2 2026 | 18% | +0.8 points |
| Q1 2026 | 19% | +1.2 points |
| Q4 2025 | 19% | -9.3 points |
| Q3 2025 | 15% | -9.9 points |
| Q2 2025 | 17% | -1.6 points |
| Q1 2025 | 18% | -3.6 points |
| Q4 2024 | 28% | +10 points |
NXST's operating margin was 25% last quarter, up 10 points from the same quarter a year ago.
GOOGL Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -$9.1B | -137% |
| Q2 2026 | -$5.9B | -210% |
| Q1 2026 | $10.1B | -47% |
| Q4 2025 | $24.6B | -1.2% |
| Q3 2025 | $24.5B | +39% |
| Q2 2025 | $5.3B | -61% |
| Q1 2025 | $19B | +13% |
| Q4 2024 | $24.8B | +215% |
GOOGL usually generates cash, though not every quarter: the latest was −$9.1B, but it generated $19.7B over the past year.
NXST Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $634M | +629% |
| Q2 2026 | $253M | +16% |
| Q1 2026 | $267M | -12% |
| Q4 2025 | $136M | -64% |
| Q3 2025 | $87M | -76% |
| Q2 2025 | $218M | +57% |
| Q1 2025 | $302M | +30% |
| Q4 2024 | $376M | +158% |
NXST has the edge over GOOGL on cash flow, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
GOOGL Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | +0.5% | +59M shares |
| 1 year | +1.4% | +165M shares |
| 3 years | -1.2% | -148M shares |
| 5 years | -6.8% | -907M shares |
| Available history | -10% | -1.4B shares |
GOOGL has 12.4B diluted shares, up 1.4% from a year ago.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | — |
| Q2 2026 | — |
| Q1 2026 | — |
| Q4 2025 | $5.5B |
| Q3 2025 | $11.5B |
| Q2 2025 | $13.6B |
| Q1 2025 | $15.1B |
| Q4 2024 | $15.6B |
GOOGL spent $5.5B buying back its own shares over the past year, down 90% from the year before.
NXST Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | +0.3% | +105K shares |
| 1 year | +1.2% | +364K shares |
| 3 years | -12% | -4.4M shares |
| 5 years | -29% | -12.5M shares |
| Available history | -35% | -16.9M shares |
NXST has the edge over GOOGL on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q4 2025 | — |
| Q3 2025 | — |
| Q2 2025 | $50M |
| Q1 2025 | $75M |
| Q4 2024 | $178M |
| Q3 2024 | $177M |
| Q2 2024 | $135M |
| Q1 2024 | $111M |
GOOGL Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 0.4x | Very low |
| Q2 2026 | 0.3x | Very low |
| Q1 2026 | 0.3x | Very low |
| Q4 2025 | 0.1x | Very low |
| Q3 2025 | 0.0x | Very low |
| Q2 2025 | 0.1x | Very low |
| Q1 2025 | -0.1x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2024 | -0.1x | Net Cash |
GOOGL has the edge over NXST on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
NXST Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 6.4x | High |
| Q2 2026 | 8.3x | High |
| Q1 2026 | 9.2x | High |
| Q4 2025 | 4.6x | High |
| Q3 2025 | 3.3x | Elevated |
| Q2 2025 | 3.1x | Elevated |
| Q1 2025 | 3.1x | Elevated |
| Q4 2024 | 3.1x | Elevated |
NXST's net debt is about 6.4 years of its operating earnings (EBITDA), up from 3.3 years a year ago.
GOOGL Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 40.2 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 11.7 | Oversold |
GOOGL's weekly RSI is 40 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 12 (oversold).
NXST Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 62.8 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 69.7 | Neutral |
NXST's weekly RSI is 63 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 70 (neutral).
GOOGL PE vs Communication Services Sector
| Metric | GOOGL | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 16x | 16x | 6% below |
| PE % | 1 | 26 | 25 pts below |
GOOGL has the edge over NXST on valuation relative to its sector.
NXST PE vs Communication Services Sector
| Metric | NXST | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 19x | 16x | 13% above |
| PE % | 86 | 26 | 60 pts above |
NXST is trading at 19x earnings, a 13% premium to the Communication Services sector's median of 16x.
GOOGL Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $320.4 | 6.8% below |
| 20 week MA | $336.1 | 11% below |
| 50 week MA | $334.5 | 11% below |
| 100 week MA | $267.8 | 12% above |
| 200 week MA | $204.7 | 46% above |
GOOGL has pulled back, but its long-term trend is still up: it's below its 8-, 20- and 50-week averages, but 46% above its 200-week average.
NXST Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $172.3 | 20% above |
| 20 week MA | $177.3 | 16% above |
| 50 week MA | $193.7 | 6.4% above |
| 100 week MA | $184.9 | 11% above |
| 200 week MA | $175.2 | 18% above |
NXST has the edge over GOOGL on trend strength, trading above more of its moving averages.
GOOGL Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $67.7 | $86.7 | +28% |
| 2021 | $86.7 | $146.9 | +69% |
| 2022 | $146.9 | $89.2 | -39% |
| 2023 | $89.2 | $139.7 | +57% |
| 2024 | $139.7 | $192.8 | +38% |
| 2025 | $192.8 | $313.5 | +63% |
| 2026 YTD | $313.5 | $298.7 | -4.7% |
GOOGL has finished higher in five of the last six years, three of them by more than 50%. It's down 4.7% so far in 2026.
NXST Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $118.2 | $105.0 | -11% |
| 2021 | $105.0 | $152.8 | +45% |
| 2022 | $152.8 | $176.0 | +15% |
| 2023 | $176.0 | $156.8 | -11% |
| 2024 | $156.8 | $159.1 | +1.5% |
| 2025 | $159.1 | $205.0 | +29% |
| 2026 YTD | $205.0 | $206.0 | +0.5% |
NXST has the edge over GOOGL on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.