Munger Mode rating: 4 out of 5 — Buy. Our own rating from the research report below, on business quality first: moat durability and management, with price separating the top three.
We write this as ourselves. We have said publicly that not buying this company twenty years ago was one of our costlier omissions. That confession does not oblige us to like it at any price, so what follows is our attempt to look at Alphabet in September 2026 with fresh eyes: the year it stopped generating free cash, sold stock for the first time since its IPO, quintupled its debt, and simultaneously reported the fastest operating growth in its history as a large company. Strip away the org chart and Alphabet is three businesses and a venture portfolio. Google Services (79% of revenue, 97% of segment operating profit). People ask questions; Google answers them; advertisers pay to be part of the answer. Search and related advertising produced $63.3 billion in the June 2026 quarter alone.
Recent filings analysed: 8-K (2026-08-10), FWP (2026-08-07), 10-Q (2026-07-23), 8-K (2026-07-22).
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