GOOGL
Alphabet Inc.
GOOGL has the edge over ZD overall, supported by stronger modeled upside and lower modeled downside.
ZD
Ziff Davis, Inc.
ZD offers stronger valuation, 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.
ZD Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Under pressure | |
| Healthy | |
| Stable | |
| Strong |
ZD's profitability and balance sheet are currently healthy, and its cash flow is stable, but its revenue is under pressure.
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's PE is in its cheap range at 16x, but its recent earnings include one-off gains. On analysts' estimates for next year's earnings, today's price would be 22x.
ZD PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Current | 3.1x | $51.69 | — |
| Forward | 9x | $51.69 | — |
| Cheap | 12x | $199 | +285% |
| Fair | 26x | $438 | +748% |
| Expensive | 44x | $751 | +1352% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
ZD has the edge over GOOGL in the historical PE scenario, which offers more potential upside but is not a forecast.
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.
ZD Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly deteriorating | |
| Growth | |
| Decline | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Limited | |
| High |
Analysts expect ZD's earnings to grow and its profitability to improve, but its revenue to decline.
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's earnings per share have climbed steadily: $19.16 over the past year, up 89% from the year before, and higher year over year for 13 quarters in a row. Its recent earnings include one-off gains.
ZD Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $5.76 | -66% |
| Q3 2026 | $16.96 | +547% |
| Q2 2026 | $17.72 | +1007% |
| Q1 2026 | $1.18 | -33% |
| Q4 2025 | $1.15 | -19% |
| Q3 2025 | $2.62 | +110% |
| Q2 2025 | $1.60 | -5.3% |
| Q1 2025 | $1.75 | +37% |
| Q4 2024 | $1.42 | +60% |
ZD earned $16.96 per share over the past year, about six times what it earned the year before.
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 ZD 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 ZD on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
ZD Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $289.3M | -20% |
| Q2 2026 | $286.7M | -19% |
| Q1 2026 | $267.6M | -19% |
| Q4 2025 | $406.7M | -1.5% |
| Q3 2025 | $363.7M | +2.9% |
| Q2 2025 | $352.2M | +9.8% |
| Q1 2025 | $328.6M | +4.5% |
| Q4 2024 | $412.8M | +5.9% |
ZD's revenue has slid since its 2020 peak: $289M last quarter, down 20% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -12% | -19 points |
| Q2 2026 | -16% | -25 points |
| Q1 2026 | 1.1% | -9.6 points |
| Q4 2025 | 21% | +2.1 points |
| Q3 2025 | 7.8% | +16 points |
| Q2 2025 | 9.5% | +0.6 points |
| Q1 2025 | 11% | -0.7 points |
| Q4 2024 | 19% | -1.7 points |
ZD's operating margin was −12% last quarter, down 19 points from the same quarter a year ago, near the bottom of its range since 2019.
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.
ZD Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -$100.1M | -193% |
| Q2 2026 | $54M | +100% |
| Q1 2026 | -$3.2M | +$1.8M |
| Q4 2025 | $157.8M | +20% |
| Q3 2025 | $108.2M | +35% |
| Q2 2025 | $26.9M | +7.5% |
| Q1 2025 | -$5M | -111% |
| Q4 2024 | $131.1M | +99% |
ZD 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.
ZD Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -7.2% | -2.6M shares |
| 1 year | -17% | -6.8M shares |
| 3 years | -27% | -12.3M shares |
| 5 years | -31% | -14.8M shares |
| Available history | -32% | -15.7M shares |
ZD has the edge over GOOGL on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $92M |
| Q2 2026 | $121.5M |
| Q1 2026 | $51.6M |
| Q4 2025 | $60.6M |
| Q3 2025 | $44.4M |
| Q2 2025 | $33.9M |
| Q1 2025 | $34.9M |
| Q4 2024 | $1.2M |
ZD spent $326M buying back its own shares over the past year, up 185% from the year before.
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's net debt is less than a year of its operating earnings (EBITDA).
ZD Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -2.6x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2026 | -2.6x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2026 | 0.9x | Very low |
| Q4 2025 | 0.6x | Very low |
| Q3 2025 | 0.9x | Very low |
| Q2 2025 | 1.2x | Healthy |
| Q1 2025 | 1.3x | Healthy |
| Q4 2024 | 1.1x | Healthy |
ZD has the edge over GOOGL on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
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).
ZD Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 49.7 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 33.8 | Neutral |
ZD's weekly RSI is 50 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 34 (neutral).
GOOGL PE vs Communication Services Sector
| Metric | GOOGL | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 16x | 16x | 6% below |
| PE % | 1 | 26 | 25 pts below |
GOOGL is trading at 16x earnings, in line with the Communication Services sector's median of 16x, though its recent earnings include one-off gains.
ZD PE vs Communication Services Sector
| Metric | ZD | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 3.1x | 16x | 82% below |
| PE % | 1 | 26 | 25 pts below |
ZD has the edge over GOOGL on valuation relative to its sector.
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.
ZD Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $54.9 | 5.9% below |
| 20 week MA | $54.7 | 5.4% below |
| 50 week MA | $45.9 | 13% above |
| 100 week MA | $42.1 | 23% above |
| 200 week MA | $52.4 | 1.3% below |
ZD's trend is mixed: it's above two of its five weekly moving averages, and 1.3% below its 200-week average.
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.
ZD Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $81.8 | $84.9 | +3.8% |
| 2021 | $84.9 | $111.0 | +31% |
| 2022 | $111.0 | $78.0 | -30% |
| 2023 | $78.0 | $67.2 | -14% |
| 2024 | $67.2 | $55.4 | -18% |
| 2025 | $55.4 | $35.9 | -35% |
| 2026 YTD | $35.9 | $51.7 | +44% |
ZD has the edge over GOOGL on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.