New York, Feb 20, 2026, 17:39 EST — After-hours
- Alphabet’s Class C shares jumped roughly 3.7% in after-hours trading, leaving the broader market’s Friday gains behind.
- Supreme Court news on tariffs caught investors’ attention, along with a wave of new AI headlines out of Google.
- Next week, all eyes swing to Nvidia’s results as investors gauge if the AI trade still holds up.
Alphabet Inc’s Class C shares (GOOG) jumped roughly 3.7% to $314.90 in after-hours trading Friday, as a broad relief rally across U.S. stocks put megacaps back on top.
Alphabet’s right in the thick of two hot-button trades: policy risks swirling around tariffs, and the question mark over whether all that hefty AI spending is actually showing up in revenue yet. When a $2.9 trillion heavyweight shifts, it doesn’t stay contained—especially on a late-week tape.
Markets found a tailwind Friday after the U.S. Supreme Court tossed out President Donald Trump’s global tariffs. That decision had investors betting the policy’s successor might land with less of a sting than expected. “Today is a removal of some uncertainty, and we’re on to the next phase,” said Mike Dickson, head of research and quantitative strategies at Horizon Investments. Source: https://www.reuters.com/business/us-stock-futures-muted-ahead-economic-data-2026-02-20/
Alphabet started the session at $304.71 and saw shares move between $304.95 and $316.68. Roughly 33.6 million shares were traded, market data showed. GOOG represents the non-voting shares of Alphabet, while its Class A shares (GOOGL) usually follow a similar path.
Asia was in focus for several companies. Google and Sea Ltd rolled out plans to collaborate on AI for Sea’s e-commerce and gaming arms, targeting new tools — including what they called an “agentic shopping prototype” for Shopee. Unlike standard AI chatbots, this software aims to carry out actions across multiple tasks. Shopee controlled 52% of Southeast Asia’s e-commerce market in 2024, according to consultancy Momentum Works, the report noted. Source: https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/google-shopee-owner-sea-develop-ai-tools-e-commerce-gaming-2026-02-19/
The AI infrastructure narrative got another nudge from a Wall Street Journal piece. Google, the report said, is weighing ways to ramp up interest in its in-house AI chips—tensor processing units, or TPUs—including discussions around a potential $100 million investment in Fluidstack, a cloud-computing upstart valued near $7.5 billion. As for any shakeup on the TPU side, a Google spokesperson told the Journal there are no restructuring plans, per the report. Source: https://in.investing.com/news/stock-market-news/google-explores-expansion-of-ai-chip-market-through-data-center-partnerships–wsj-93CH-5250198
Google is pushing out Gemini 3.1 Pro, the latest version of its AI model, across a range of products. The upgrade goes live for both consumers and developers, with the Gemini API and Vertex AI for enterprise clients also getting the new model. Source: https://blog.google/innovation-and-ai/models-and-research/gemini-models/gemini-3-1-pro/
Google is rolling out new Gemini-driven tools for business Gmail users, starting with those on Gemini Alpha. Blake Barnes, Gmail’s vice president of product, highlighted in a blog post that business customers are now getting “a number of those new features,” including “AI Overviews” for Gmail search, plus upgraded drafting features tailored to the user. Source: https://workspace.google.com/blog/product-announcements/more-personalized-and-proactive-assistance-in-gmail-coming-to-business-customers
The bear case still looms. Shares tied to AI have been swinging around as traders debate whether sky-high valuations are justified, and if those big spending bets will actually boost profits. Some names in the AI crowd won’t make it through unscathed. “We’re at a moment in the cycle where you realize that not everyone’s going to win and not all expectations are going to be met,” said Keith Buchanan, a senior portfolio manager at GLOBALT Investments. Source: https://www.reuters.com/business/us-stock-futures-slip-focus-turns-ai-worries-walmart-earnings-2026-02-19/
Alphabet’s own capex outlook is feeding into the mix. Earlier in the month, the company signaled it expects to spend somewhere between $175 billion and $185 billion on capital expenditures in 2026 — that’s investments into data centers, chips, and other heavy infrastructure, as it ramps up for AI, according to Reuters. Investors are eyeing whether cloud and ad revenue can keep up with that kind of outlay. Source: https://www.reuters.com/business/google-parent-alphabet-forecasts-sharp-surge-2026-capital-spending-2026-02-04/
Macro factors didn’t take center stage. The Commerce Department’s latest report revealed that core PCE inflation — the measure the Federal Reserve favors, which strips out food and energy — climbed more than anticipated in December. That’s fueling expectations rate cuts may get pushed out past June. Barclays economist Pooja Sriram called out the “very volatile category” of legal services, which drove a notable spike, adding, “with very little forward-looking inference.” Source: https://www.reuters.com/business/us-pce-inflation-heats-up-december-2026-02-20/
Nvidia’s quarterly numbers drop on Feb. 25, and traders are set to pore over them for fresh insight into AI demand and where spending is headed in tech. The readthrough could rattle Alphabet and the other megacaps in short order. Source: https://nvidianews.nvidia.com/news/nvidia-sets-conference-call-for-fourth-quarter-financial-results-6916259
