Alphabet ripped 9.96% to a record close as Google Cloud revenue jumped 63% and 2026 capital-spending fears washed over the rest of mega-cap tech, sending Meta Platforms down 8.55% on a $145 billion AI capex outlook. The S&P 500 added 1.02% to close at 7,209.01, the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.89%, and the iShares Semiconductor ETF (NASDAQ: SOXX) rose 2.54% to 461.44, capping the strongest monthly stretch for chips since the AI cycle began.
Today's biggest movers
| Ticker | Close | Day | 1mo | YTD |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $GOOGL | $384.80 | +9.96% | +29.39% | +22.10% |
| $AMD | $354.49 | +5.16% | +68.64% | +58.63% |
| $BIDU | $126.53 | +4.56% | +13.07% | -15.82% |
| $ARM | $210.32 | +4.28% | +35.63% | +83.32% |
| $SMCI | $27.40 | +4.10% | +21.72% | -11.50% |
| $META | $611.91 | -8.55% | +5.64% | -5.92% |
| $NVDA | $199.57 | -4.63% | +13.55% | +5.68% |
| $MSFT | $407.78 | -3.93% | +10.40% | -13.78% |
| $SNOW | $136.47 | -3.36% | -10.87% | -37.03% |
| $NET | $204.97 | -3.30% | -0.22% | +4.57% |
Alphabet pops 10% on Cloud blow-out, market cap doubles in a year
Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOGL) closed at $384.80, its biggest single-day gain since the 2023 AI re-rating, after Q1 2026 results topped consensus on every line. Consolidated revenue came in at $109.9 billion, up 22% year-over-year, against the $107.2 billion Street estimate. Net income hit $62.58 billion, with EPS of $5.11 versus the $2.63 adjusted consensus, lifted by an income-tax benefit but underpinned by genuine operating leverage.
The number Wall Street fixated on was Google Cloud. Revenue jumped 63% to $20 billion, operating income reached $6.6 billion, and operating margin expanded to 32.9% from 17.8% a year earlier. Cloud backlog nearly doubled to roughly $460 billion, a multi-year contracted-revenue figure that gives Alphabet visibility on AI-workload demand most peers lack. Google Search and Other Advertising rose 19% to $60.4 billion, with retail and financial-services verticals leading.
At least nine analysts raised price targets after the print. Citi pushed its target to $447, Bank of America to $430, Stifel to $420, and Barclays' Ross Sandler lifted his Overweight target by $45 to $405. Of the 66 analysts covering GOOGL, 59 now rate it Buy or higher. The market cap closed at $4.4 trillion, up from $1.9 trillion a year ago, the cleanest mega-cap re-rating of this earnings cycle.
Meta tumbles 9% after raising 2026 AI capex to $145 billion
Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ: META) closed at $611.91, down 8.55%, after a Q1 print that beat on revenue and earnings was overshadowed by a $20 billion lift to full-year capital expenditure guidance. Q1 revenue rose 33% year-over-year to $56.31 billion, the fastest growth quarter since 2021, with advertising at $55.02 billion and operating income at $22.8 billion. Adjusted EPS of $7.31, stripping out an $8.03 billion tax benefit, beat the $6.66 consensus by 9.6%.