As of now, Google’s stock (NASDAQ: GOOG) has experienced a 7% year-to-date decline, underperforming against the S&P 500, which has risen 2%. Key factors for this trend include increased regulatory scrutiny and investor concerns regarding AI’s potential disruption to Google’s search business.
Despite this decline, GOOG stock has doubled since the beginning of 2023, driven by a 47% increase in the Price-to-Sales (P/S) ratio, a 27% jump in revenues from $283 billion in 2022 to $360 billion, and a 7% reduction in total shares outstanding due to approximately $200 billion in share buybacks.
Google’s growth has been significantly supported by its cloud segment, which grew 64% from 2022 to 2024, as well as robust search and YouTube ad revenues, increasing 22% and 24%, respectively. However, risks persist, particularly concerning regulatory challenges and significant capital expenditures amounting to $134 billion since 2022.
