We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve your experience.
This includes personalizing content and advertising.
By pressing "Accept All" or closing out of this banner, you consent to the use of all cookies and similar technologies and the sharing of information they collect with third parties.
You can reject marketing cookies by pressing "Deny Optional," but we still use essential, performance, and functional cookies.
In addition, whether you "Accept All," Deny Optional," click the X or otherwise continue to use the site, you accept our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service, revised from time to time.
You are being directed to ZacksTrade, a division of LBMZ Securities and licensed broker-dealer. ZacksTrade and Zacks.com are separate companies. The web link between the two companies is not a solicitation or offer to invest in a particular security or type of security. ZacksTrade does not endorse or adopt any particular investment strategy, any analyst opinion/rating/report or any approach to evaluating individual securities.
If you wish to go to ZacksTrade, click OK. If you do not, click Cancel.
GOOGL vs AMZN: Which Stock Is Better Ahead of Q4 Earnings Results?
Markets will receive more quarterly results from the Mag 7 this week, with Alphabet and Amazon's Q4 reports rolling in after-market hours on Wednesday, February 4, and Thursday, February 5, respectively.
Only Nvidia will be left to report later in the month. The other four Mag 7 members reported last week, and outside of Meta Platforms, investors seemed to be somewhat underwhelmed as their growth was overshadowed by reemerging CapEx concerns, as it relates to AI.
Of course, as it relates to Alphabet and Amazon, the individual growth of their cloud services will be closely monitored and hopefully echoes further enhancements from AI.
With Alphabet's Google Cloud and Amazon Web Services (AWS) being direct competitors in the global cloud-computing market, let's see which of these tech giants may be the better investment at the moment.
Alphabet's Q4 Expectations
Based on Zacks estimates, Alphabet's Q4 sales are expected to be up 16% to a new peak of $94.7 billion from $81.62 billion a year ago. As the third largest cloud services provider, Zacks projections call for Alphabet's Google Cloud revenue to be $16.25 billion, a 36% increase from $11.95 billion in Q4 2024.
On the bottom line, Alphabet's Q4 EPS is thought to have spiked 20% to $2.58 versus $2.15 a share in the comparative quarter.
It's noteworthy that Alphabet has surpassed the Zacks EPS Consensus for 11 consecutive quarters with a very impressive average earnings surprise of 18.74% in its last four quarterly reports.
Amazon's Q4 Expectations
Pivoting to Amazon, Q4 sales are expected to come in at a record $211.56 billion, a 12% increase from $187.79 billion last year. Being the largest global cloud provider, AWS revenue is expected to be $35.02 billion, a 21% increase from $28.78 billion in the comparative quarter.
Amazon's Q4 EPS is expected to rise 6% to $1.98 versus $1.86 per share a year ago.
Notably, Amazon has exceeded EPS expectations for 12 straight quarters with a remarkable average earnings surprise of 22.47% in its last four quarterly reports.
Performance & P/E Comparison
After implementing 20-1 stock splits in 2022, respectively, Alphabet and Amazon stock had largely mirrored each other in price performance in a steady ascension above the $200 a share level. When one bounced higher, the other usually followed.
However, over the last year, Alphabet stock has taken off, surging more than +80% and now up +230% in the last three years. The rally has been attributed to growth in Alphabet's AI-driven businesses, including momentum in Google Cloud and strong advertising recovery.
On the other hand, Amazon shares have seen a stagnant performance, falling 2% over the last year despite a three-year return of +130%. The pullback is due to key segments like AWS seeing slower revenue growth amid lofty expectations.
That said, after historically trading at a noticeable P/E premium to its cloud services peer, Amazon stock currently trades under $240 a share and at 30.7X forward earnings compared to Alphabet's 31X, with a price tag near $340.
EPS Growth Projections
Magnifying the $100 difference in their stock pricing and a slight P/E discount is that Amazon's EPS growth projections are slightly higher for fiscal 2026 (10%), with FY25 EPS now expected to be up nearly 30% to $7.18.
Although Alphabet's annual earnings are slated to expand over 31% to $10.57 per share, FY26 EPS is projected to rise a modest 5%.
Bottom Line
Hopefully, both of these tech giants can post strong Q4 results that help offset CapEx concerns among the Mag 7.
If they are able to do so, more upside appears to favor Amazon stock, which currently sports a Zack Rank #2 (Buy), with Alphabet shares landing a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) after such an extensive rally.
Why Haven't You Looked at Zacks' Top Stocks?
Since 2000, our top stock-picking strategies have blown away the S&P's +7.7% average gain per year. Amazingly, they soared with average gains of +48.4%, +50.2% and +56.7% per year.
Today you can access their live picks without cost or obligation.
Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss. This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit https://www.zacks.com/performancefor information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.
See More Zacks Research for These Tickers
Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:
Image: Bigstock
Zacks Investment Ideas feature highlights: Alphabet, Amazon, Nvidia and Meta Platforms
For Immediate Release
Chicago, IL – February 4, 2026 – Today, Zacks Investment Ideas feature highlights Alphabet (GOOGL - Free Report) , Amazon (AMZN - Free Report) , Nvidia (NVDA - Free Report) and Meta Platforms (META - Free Report) .
GOOGL vs AMZN: Which Stock Is Better Ahead of Q4 Earnings Results?
Markets will receive more quarterly results from the Mag 7 this week, with Alphabet and Amazon's Q4 reports rolling in after-market hours on Wednesday, February 4, and Thursday, February 5, respectively.
Only Nvidia will be left to report later in the month. The other four Mag 7 members reported last week, and outside of Meta Platforms, investors seemed to be somewhat underwhelmed as their growth was overshadowed by reemerging CapEx concerns, as it relates to AI.
Of course, as it relates to Alphabet and Amazon, the individual growth of their cloud services will be closely monitored and hopefully echoes further enhancements from AI.
With Alphabet's Google Cloud and Amazon Web Services (AWS) being direct competitors in the global cloud-computing market, let's see which of these tech giants may be the better investment at the moment.
Alphabet's Q4 Expectations
Based on Zacks estimates, Alphabet's Q4 sales are expected to be up 16% to a new peak of $94.7 billion from $81.62 billion a year ago. As the third largest cloud services provider, Zacks projections call for Alphabet's Google Cloud revenue to be $16.25 billion, a 36% increase from $11.95 billion in Q4 2024.
On the bottom line, Alphabet's Q4 EPS is thought to have spiked 20% to $2.58 versus $2.15 a share in the comparative quarter.
It's noteworthy that Alphabet has surpassed the Zacks EPS Consensus for 11 consecutive quarters with a very impressive average earnings surprise of 18.74% in its last four quarterly reports.
Amazon's Q4 Expectations
Pivoting to Amazon, Q4 sales are expected to come in at a record $211.56 billion, a 12% increase from $187.79 billion last year. Being the largest global cloud provider, AWS revenue is expected to be $35.02 billion, a 21% increase from $28.78 billion in the comparative quarter.
Amazon's Q4 EPS is expected to rise 6% to $1.98 versus $1.86 per share a year ago.
Notably, Amazon has exceeded EPS expectations for 12 straight quarters with a remarkable average earnings surprise of 22.47% in its last four quarterly reports.
Performance & P/E Comparison
After implementing 20-1 stock splits in 2022, respectively, Alphabet and Amazon stock had largely mirrored each other in price performance in a steady ascension above the $200 a share level. When one bounced higher, the other usually followed.
However, over the last year, Alphabet stock has taken off, surging more than +80% and now up +230% in the last three years. The rally has been attributed to growth in Alphabet's AI-driven businesses, including momentum in Google Cloud and strong advertising recovery.
On the other hand, Amazon shares have seen a stagnant performance, falling 2% over the last year despite a three-year return of +130%. The pullback is due to key segments like AWS seeing slower revenue growth amid lofty expectations.
That said, after historically trading at a noticeable P/E premium to its cloud services peer, Amazon stock currently trades under $240 a share and at 30.7X forward earnings compared to Alphabet's 31X, with a price tag near $340.
EPS Growth Projections
Magnifying the $100 difference in their stock pricing and a slight P/E discount is that Amazon's EPS growth projections are slightly higher for fiscal 2026 (10%), with FY25 EPS now expected to be up nearly 30% to $7.18.
Although Alphabet's annual earnings are slated to expand over 31% to $10.57 per share, FY26 EPS is projected to rise a modest 5%.
Bottom Line
Hopefully, both of these tech giants can post strong Q4 results that help offset CapEx concerns among the Mag 7.
If they are able to do so, more upside appears to favor Amazon stock, which currently sports a Zack Rank #2 (Buy), with Alphabet shares landing a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) after such an extensive rally.
Why Haven't You Looked at Zacks' Top Stocks?
Since 2000, our top stock-picking strategies have blown away the S&P's +7.7% average gain per year. Amazingly, they soared with average gains of +48.4%, +50.2% and +56.7% per year.
Today you can access their live picks without cost or obligation.
See Stocks Free >>
Media Contact
Zacks Investment Research
800-767-3771 ext. 9339
support@zacks.com
https://www.zacks.com
Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss. This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit https://www.zacks.com/performancefor information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.