This AI Stock Just Joined Apple and Microsoft in the $3 Trillion Club. Is It a Buy?

Key Points

• This player is a technology giant that's been generating billions of dollars in earnings over time.

• The company uses AI to improve its operations and offers AI products and services to its customers.

• 10 stocks we like better than Alphabet ›

A few years ago, Apple reigned as the world's biggest company, with Microsoft close behind. But the artificial intelligence (AI) boom upset those rankings, helping AI giant Nvidia to zoom ahead into the top spot, with a market value of more than $4 trillion. In recent days, another AI player has seen its market value increase, pushing it into the $3 trillion club with Apple and Microsoft.

Of course, this isn't actually a real club with membership rules and benefits, but rather a way of referring to the few companies that have reached such an enormous market capitalization. It's important to note that all these players are in the tech industry, and each is involved in AI to a certain degree. Let's take a look at this new addition to the exclusive group of $3 trillion stocks and find out whether it's one to buy.

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Image source: Getty Images.

Billion-dollar earnings

So, which company has passed the key level of $3 trillion, bringing it closer to market giants Apple and Microsoft? I'm talking about Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOG) (NASDAQ: GOOGL), owner of something you probably use every day -- the world's No. 1 search engine, Google. On top of this, Alphabet is the parent of high-growth cloud business Google Cloud and generates revenue through the sale of hardware such as smartphones. All these businesses have helped Alphabet deliver billion-dollar revenue and profit quarter after quarter.

Alphabet has also become a key player in the field of AI, offering a vast number of services through Google Cloud, which has supercharged that unit's revenue in recent years. In the latest quarter, the company reported that cloud revenue soared 32% to more than $13 billion, boosted by AI infrastructure and generative AI solutions.

The company has been using AI itself to make gains across its Google Search business, too. For example, Alphabet's large language model (LLM) Gemini is improving advertisements across the platform to generate better results. Considering ads are Alphabet's biggest revenue driver, this is an important move that may prompt advertisers to spend more.

An antitrust lawsuit

This paints a very bright picture, but in recent times, one particular risk darkened the image: a U.S. antitrust lawsuit against Alphabet. A district court ruled last year that Alphabet's Google was an illegal monopoly, and the U.S. Justice Department recommended a breakup of Google. Though many investors (including myself) didn't expect this worst-case scenario to unfold, the possibility still represented a headwind for the stock.

Earlier this month, though, a district judge ruled that Alphabet wouldn't be ordered to sell Google's Chrome browser or the Android operating system. Instead, the decision ordered Alphabet to share search data with rivals. Removing the worst scenario from the landscape, the decision drove Alphabet shares higher and helped the company's market value advance past $3 trillion.

Now, let's return to our question: Following this much-awaited outcome, is now a good time to buy Alphabet stock? As mentioned, Alphabet's businesses are going strong -- and the latest court ruling suggests this trend will continue. The company's leadership in search, along with its use of AI, should keep ad revenue climbing, and overall demand for AI is set to power Alphabet's cloud revenue growth.

The cheapest "Magnificent Seven" stock

Alphabet's recent gain in market value alone isn't a reason to buy the stock, but the other positive points I've mentioned all add to the buy case for this stock. "But what about price?" you might ask. Even though Alphabet's valuation had increased, it remains reasonable at 25 times forward earnings estimates, and the stock is still the cheapest among all the "Magnificent Seven" stocks -- these are the tech players that have driven market gains over the past two years.

Alphabet's valuation today, despite the recent share price performance, also supports the idea of getting in on this tech player.

Of course, Alphabet faces competition in the cloud business, and the company must continue to invest heavily to meet the needs of AI customers. But this tech player has the strength to do so and is well positioned to be among the AI winners as this growth story continues. All this means that today, after the biggest headwind has subsided, is the perfect time to buy Alphabet shares.

Should you invest $1,000 in Alphabet right now?

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Adria Cimino has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, Apple, Microsoft, and Nvidia. The Motley Fool recommends the following options: long January 2026 $395 calls on Microsoft and short January 2026 $405 calls on Microsoft. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.