New York, Jan 21, 2026, 10:16 EST — Regular session
- Alphabet Class C shares (GOOG) rose roughly 1% in early trading
- Markets rebound while processing Trump’s comments at Davos and renewed tariff warnings
- Attention shifts to Alphabet’s early-February earnings for clues on advertising and cloud performance
Alphabet Inc’s Class C shares (GOOG), which carry no voting rights, gained roughly 1% Wednesday, helping lift the Google parent amid a tentative big tech bounce. The stock climbed $3.17 to trade at $325.33 in early trading.
This matters since Alphabet ranks among the market’s heavy hitters. When headlines on trade or policy drop, traders tend to jump on the biggest, most liquid tech stocks right away, then figure out the details afterward.
This week served as a reminder. Much of the price movement isn’t driven by Google search trends or YouTube performance on any single day, but rather by investors’ appetite for “risk” and its scale.
U.S. stocks inched higher in volatile trading after President Donald Trump, speaking at Davos, ruled out using force to acquire Greenland. Still, investors stayed cautious over the risk of renewed trade tensions. “That likely put a floor in the recent sell-off,” said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at B Riley Wealth, but he warned markets remain “concerned about reigniting a trade war.” Reuters highlighted a busy slate of upcoming U.S. data, including GDP, PMI readings, and the PCE price index, the Fed’s favored inflation gauge. 1
Markets tumbled the day before after Trump threatened new tariffs on European allies unless the U.S. gets to buy Greenland. Wasif Latif, CIO at Sarmaya Partners, described it as a “pretty significant risk-off day,” noting that geopolitical risks are back in focus. A Reuters wrap reported that European leaders plan to meet Thursday in Brussels for an emergency summit to discuss possible retaliation, including tariffs totaling 93 billion euros ($109 billion). 2
Alphabet made headlines at Davos, but the news didn’t move its stock. Isomorphic Labs, the AI drug discovery startup supported by Google, now aims to start clinical trials by the end of 2026, CEO and founder Demis Hassabis revealed—marking a delay from previous plans. 3
Regulation remains a persistent factor, unlikely to disappear. Australia has already banned social media access for under-16s. Other nations are considering similar age restrictions that could impact platforms like Alphabet’s YouTube and Meta’s Instagram and Facebook. 4
Alphabet investors face a clear near-term picture: ad demand usually mirrors business confidence, and cloud spending can drop sharply if companies grow cautious. When the macro environment sours, these are the first areas to raise concern.
The downside is straightforward. Should tariff threats turn into real levies and provoke retaliation, the “risk-off” mood that weighed on megacap tech earlier this week could reemerge. And GOOG won’t be immune, even with its solid fundamentals.
Alphabet’s next big moment isn’t a speech but a calendar date: the company will reveal its fourth-quarter and full-year results on Feb. 4 at 4:30 p.m. ET. This report could shake up what investors expect on ads, cloud, and spending heading into 2026. 5
