New York, January 5, 2026, 17:08 EST — After-hours
- Alphabet’s non-voting Class C shares rose in after-hours trading as Samsung flagged a wider Gemini-backed AI rollout.
- Samsung said it plans to double “Galaxy AI” devices to 800 million this year, up from about 400 million. Reuters
- Investors are watching U.S. jobs data on Jan. 9 and Alphabet’s next results, expected Feb. 3 but not yet confirmed by the company.
Alphabet’s Class C shares, which carry no voting rights, were up 0.7% at $317.32 in after-hours trading on Monday.
The move followed Samsung Electronics’ plan to double the number of mobile devices running “Galaxy AI” features largely powered by Google’s Gemini model. Reuters
For Alphabet investors, distribution is the point. Gemini’s reach on phones and tablets matters as Big Tech races to lock in everyday users for AI assistants that can steer search, apps and, eventually, paid services.
Samsung plans to lift the number of mobile products with “Galaxy AI” features to 800 million in 2026, up from about 400 million last year, co-CEO T M Roh told Reuters. “We will apply AI to all products, all functions, and all services as quickly as possible,” Roh said. Reuters
Galaxy AI is Samsung’s branding for on-device tools such as search, translation and image editing. Samsung said the suite leans on Google’s Gemini for some tasks and its Bixby assistant for others.
The news lands as Alphabet pushes Gemini deeper across consumer and enterprise products, while OpenAI and others compete for the same attention. Google launched the latest version of Gemini in November, Samsung’s interview noted.
Broader risk appetite helped, too. The Nasdaq ended up 0.69% on Monday as Wall Street closed higher, with energy and financial stocks leading gains, Reuters reported.
Traders now pivot to macro catalysts that can reprice megacap tech. U.S. nonfarm payrolls data is due on Jan. 9 and the consumer price index is due on Jan. 13, Reuters reported.
But the same Samsung interview highlighted a potential brake: a global memory-chip shortage that could raise device costs and weigh on demand, slowing the pace of AI features reaching consumers. Alphabet also faces legal uncertainty around generative AI, including U.S. court fights over “fair use” — a doctrine that can allow limited use of copyrighted material without permission — in AI training, Reuters reported. Reuters+1
Alphabet’s next earnings are expected on Feb. 3 after the bell, though the date is listed as unconfirmed by Wall Street Horizon. Investors will be watching ad trends, Google Cloud growth and any update on AI-related spending.
