Key Takeaways
- Revenue $100.4B (+11% YoY) beat consensus of $98.95B by ~$1.5B (+1.5%); GAAP diluted EPS $2.65 beat $2.50 consensus by ~6%, driven by Search resilience, Cloud margin expansion, and disciplined opex.
- Google Cloud revenue $14.8B (+55% YoY, +13% QoQ) — accelerating sharply on Gemini-tier AI workloads; Cloud operating margin expanded to 19.6% (vs. 14.1% prior year).
- Search & Other revenue $54.2B (+10% YoY) confirmed AI Overviews and AI Mode are monetizing at parity with classic SERPs; query volume up double-digits despite ChatGPT and Perplexity competitive pressure.
- YouTube Ads $10.4B (+12% YoY) led by Connected TV and Shorts monetization; Subscriptions (YouTube TV/Premium, Google One, NFL Sunday Ticket) crossed an annualized $50B+ run-rate.
- FY26 capex guide raised to $90-95B (from $85B) — entirely earmarked for AI compute, TPU v7 (‘Ironwood’) deployment, and data center power. Operating cash flow $39.5B in Q1; net cash position $96B.
- $70B incremental buyback authorization; Q1 capital return $21.0B ($18.3B repurchases, $2.7B dividends). Dividend held at $0.21 per share.
- Maintain BUY; raise 12-month price target to $220 (from $205) on roll-forward to FY27 estimates and a higher Cloud contribution multiple. Risk-reward remains the most balanced among mega-caps trading at ~20x FY27 GAAP EPS.
Snapshot
| Metric | Q1 2026 Actual | Consensus | Variance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $100.42B | $98.95B | +1.5% / +$1.47B |
| GAAP Diluted EPS | $2.65 | $2.50 | +6.0% / +$0.15 |
| Operating income | $33.5B | $32.0B | +4.7% |
| Operating margin | 33.4% | 32.3% | +110 bps |
| Google Cloud revenue | $14.80B | $14.20B | +4.2% |
| Search & Other | $54.20B | $53.10B | +2.1% |
What’s in the full report
The PDF (~12-page report) includes the full narrative, charts, and detailed analysis across:
- Detailed Results — Q1 2026
- Segment color
- Cloud — The Acceleration Continues
- Capex and AI Infrastructure
- Capital Return
- Investment Thesis — Updated
- What’s changed since our last update
- Risks
- Catalysts (next 90 days)
- Estimate revisions
- Scenario analysis
- Bottom line
The web page is a free preview. The full source-grounded analysis — including all charts, scenario tables, and the complete narrative — is in the PDF, available with one credit.