Is Alphabet (GOOGL) Still One of the Best AI Stocks to Own?

Is Alphabet (GOOGL) Still One of the Best AI Stocks to Own?

Mon, August 10, 2026 at 3:55 PM GMT+3 3 min read

• GOOG +0.08%
• GOOG +0.08%

Brown Advisory, an investment management company, released its "Brown Advisory Global Leaders Strategy" for the second quarter of 2026 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. Brown Advisory's Global Leaders Strategy delivered a net return of 4.6% in the second quarter of 2026, underperforming its benchmark, the MSCI ACWI Net Index, which returned 14.9%. The relative weakness was driven mainly by underexposure to semiconductors and technology hardware, while software, cloud services, and financial holdings also weighed on performance. The strategy benefited from holdings in areas tied to AI infrastructure, with semiconductor exposure and AI-related investments gaining from strong demand. Looking ahead, Brown Advisory sees an attractive environment for active stock-picking, with its ready-to-buy list at its highest level since the COVID-19 period and an estimated 12%-13% average five-year base-case IRR, while maintaining a focus on quality, valuation discipline, and long-term cash-flow generation. In addition, please check the Fund's top five holdings to know its best picks in 2026.

In its second-quarter 2026 investor letter, Brown Advisory Global Leaders Strategy Fund highlighted stocks like Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL). Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) is a global technology company and the parent of Google, generating most of its revenue from digital advertising while expanding into cloud computing and AI. The one-month return of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) was 0.51% while its shares traded between $196.60 and $408.61 over the last 52 weeks. On August 7, 2026, Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) stock closed at approximately $357.75 per share, with a market capitalization of about $4.33 trillion.

Brown Advisory Global Leaders Strategy Fund stated the following regarding Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) in its Q2 2026 investor letter:

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) continues to benefit from its full-stack position across Search, Cloud, and model infrastructure. Alphabet's recent results suggest its AI investments are bearing fruit. Alphabet's equity raise in June will support its AI capex buildout and related growth opportunities and was well received by the market.

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Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) is in 3rd position on our list of 40 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds Heading Into 2026. As per our database, 265 hedge fund portfolios held Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) at the end of the first quarter, which was 288 in the previous quarter. While we acknowledge the risk and potential of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. If you're looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on thebest short-term AI stock.

In another article, we covered Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) and shared Jim Cramer's thoughts on the company. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q1 2026 page for more investor letters from hedge funds and other leading investors.

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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.