Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL) has successfully flipped the script on Wall Street, transforming from a tech giant threatened by artificial intelligence (AI) to a potential “King of AI” in just one year.



<h2>The Great Narrative Shift</h2>



According to Landon Swan, co-founder of LikeFolio, a massive change in investor sentiment has fueled Alphabet's recent stock surge. Since hitting lows of roughly $140 in April, shares have climbed more than 120%.



Swan notes that Wall Street has moved from fearing AI as a “giant threat” to Google's search monopoly to viewing it as a “giant opportunity.”



Swan admits that while he once viewed AI as a danger to the company, Alphabet is now proving it can leverage the technology better than almost anyone else, driving a transition from skepticism to “very, very bullish optimism.”



See Also: Google’s Gemini Eating ChatGPT’s Lunch: Market Share Gain From 5% To 18% Is ‘Clearest Signal’ That Alphabet Is Winning AI War



<h2>‘In Your Face’ Strategy</h2>



Central to this resurgence is Gemini, Alphabet's answer to OpenAI. While ChatGPT remains the dominant market leader with an estimated 85% share, Swan points out that Gemini is “closing fast.”



LikeFolio data indicates Gemini's user interest grew over 300% year-over-year, compared to 67% for ChatGPT.



Swan attributes this rapid catch-up to Google's “in your face” strategy—integrating Gemini directly into the default search engine used by billions.



However, a gap in engagement remains: ChatGPT daily users average 7.5 queries per day compared to just 4 for Gemini users.



<h2>Dominance Beyond Search</h2>



The bullish case extends beyond chatbots. Swan highlights that Google Cloud is “crushing it,” with revenue up 34% year-over-year—outpacing growth from competitors Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT).



Furthermore, YouTube continues to dominate the living room, commanding 13% of U.S. TV time versus Netflix Inc.'s (NASDAQ:NFLX) 8%.



With its “content machine” model and expanding cloud dominance, Alphabet is effectively firing on all cylinders.



<h2>Alphabet Delivers About 65% Returns In 2025</h2>



GOOG shares have surged by 64.78% in 2025, outpacing the gains of all its Magnificent 7 peers during the same period.



On the last trading day of the year, the stock closed 0.28% lower at $313.80 apiece on Wednesday.



Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that GOOG maintains a stronger price trend over the short, medium, and long terms, with a poor value ranking. Additional performance details are available here.



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Read Next:



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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.



Photo courtesy: Shutterstock

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Alphabet Inc. has transformed from an AI-threatened giant to a leader in AI within a year, with shares rising over 120% since April. Investor sentiment has shifted from viewing AI as a threat to seeing it as an opportunity, largely due to the success of Gemini, which is rapidly gaining user interest. Google Cloud is also performing well, with a 34% revenue increase year-over-year. Alphabet's stock has surged by nearly 65% in 2025, outperforming its peers, while YouTube continues to dominate U.S. TV time.

- Alphabet Inc. has transformed from being threatened by AI into a potential leader in the field, with its stock surging over 120% since April lows.  
- This shift in investor sentiment is attributed to Gemini, Alphabet's competitive AI offering, which has seen user interest grow significantly, although it still trails behind ChatGPT in user engagement.  
- Beyond AI, Alphabet's Google Cloud and YouTube are also exhibiting strong growth, contributing to an impressive 64.78% share price increase in 2025, outperforming competitors.

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