Alphabet Gaining Momentum: Can It Reach $200 by December?

Surging tech stock prices have made headlines in recent months

Alphabet Inc. has been one of the standout performers, with its stock price rising by more than 20% since the beginning of the year. The company's strong performance has been driven by a number of factors, including the success of its core advertising business and the growth of its cloud computing, hardware, and other businesses.

Analysts are now speculating that Alphabet's stock price could reach $200 by the end of the year. While this would be a significant milestone for the company, it is certainly achievable given its strong fundamentals and the current market conditions.

Strong growth in advertising revenue

Alphabet's core advertising business continues to perform well. The company's digital advertising revenue grew by 22% in the first quarter of 2019, to $29.3 billion. This growth was driven by strong demand for mobile advertising, as well as the company's continued expansion into new markets.

Google Cloud is gaining market share

Alphabet's cloud computing business, Google Cloud, is also growing rapidly. The company's cloud revenue grew by 53% in the first quarter of 2019, to $6.1 billion. This growth was driven by the company's strong performance in the infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) market, as well as its growing presence in the software-as-a-service (SaaS) market.

Google Cloud is now the third-largest cloud provider in the world, behind Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft Azure. However, Google Cloud is growing faster than both AWS and Azure, and it is expected to continue to gain market share in the coming years.

Other businesses are also performing well

Alphabet's other businesses, including its hardware and self-driving car businesses, are also performing well. The company's hardware revenue grew by 13% in the first quarter of 2019, to $5.3 billion. This growth was driven by strong demand for the company's Pixel smartphones and its Nest smart home devices.

Alphabet's self-driving car business, Waymo, is also making progress. The company has been testing its self-driving cars on public roads in several cities, and it is expected to launch a commercial self-driving car service in the near future.