Why Alphabet (GOOGL) Stands Out as a Leading Long-Term Growth Stock

Maximizing Your Stock Market Potential with Zacks Premium

No matter your background or level of experience, making the most of the stock market and investing with assurance are goals shared by many. Zacks Premium provides a variety of tools to help you achieve both.

This well-regarded research platform empowers investors to make more informed decisions, offering daily updates on the Zacks Rank and Industry Rank, access to the exclusive Zacks #1 Rank List, in-depth Equity Research reports, and advanced stock screening features.

Subscribers also benefit from the Zacks Style Scores, a unique set of ratings designed to enhance your investment strategy.

Understanding Zacks Style Scores

Created to complement the Zacks Rank, the Zacks Style Scores are a series of indicators that assist investors in identifying stocks with the highest likelihood of outperforming the market in the next month.

Each stock receives a grade—A, B, C, D, or F—based on its value, growth, and momentum attributes. Similar to academic grading, an A signals the strongest potential, while lower grades indicate less favorable prospects.

The Style Scores are divided into four main categories:

Value Score

Value investors seek out companies trading below their intrinsic worth. The Value Score evaluates metrics such as price-to-earnings, PEG, price-to-sales, and price-to-cash flow ratios, among others, to highlight stocks that appear undervalued and potentially offer attractive entry points.

Growth Score

For those focused on a company's future prospects, the Growth Score analyzes both projected and historical earnings, sales, and cash flow. This helps pinpoint businesses with the potential for sustained expansion over time.

Momentum Score

Momentum investors aim to capitalize on trends in stock prices or earnings forecasts. The Momentum Score considers factors like short-term price changes and shifts in earnings estimates to identify optimal moments to invest in high-momentum stocks.

VGM Score

If you prefer a comprehensive approach, the VGM Score combines value, growth, and momentum ratings into a single weighted score. This helps you find companies that excel across all three areas and is especially effective when used alongside the Zacks Rank.

How Style Scores Enhance the Zacks Rank

The Zacks Rank is a proprietary rating system that leverages changes in earnings estimates to help investors build successful portfolios.

This model has a strong track record, with #1 (Strong Buy) stocks delivering an average annual return of +23.86% since 1988—more than double the S&P 500’s performance. However, with over 200 Strong Buy and 600 Buy-rated stocks available on any given day, narrowing down your options can be daunting.

Style Scores simplify this process. To boost your chances of success, focus on stocks rated #1 or #2 by Zacks that also have Style Scores of A or B. If you’re considering a #3 (Hold) stock, ensure it also boasts a high Style Score for the best potential upside.

Since Style Scores are meant to work in tandem with the Zacks Rank, any changes in a company's earnings outlook should influence your investment decisions.

For example, even if a stock has high Style Scores, a #4 (Sell) or #5 (Strong Sell) Zacks Rank indicates a negative earnings trend and a higher risk of price decline.

Owning more stocks with a #1 or #2 Rank and top Style Scores increases your likelihood of strong returns.

Featured Stock: Alphabet (GOOGL)

Alphabet stands out as a leader in technological innovation. The company has expanded far beyond its search engine roots, now operating in cloud computing, digital advertising, streaming media, autonomous vehicles, healthcare, and more. In online search, Google commands about 90% of the market, driven by increasing search activity, especially on mobile devices, and ongoing improvements in advertising formats.

Currently, GOOGL holds a #3 (Hold) Zacks Rank and a VGM Score of B.

Growth-oriented investors may find GOOGL especially appealing. The stock has a Growth Style Score of A and is projected to achieve 7.3% year-over-year earnings growth this fiscal year.

In the past two months, 13 analysts have raised their earnings forecasts for fiscal 2026, and the Zacks Consensus Estimate has climbed by $0.52 to $11.60 per share. GOOGL also has a history of exceeding earnings expectations, with an average surprise of +20.8%.

With strong Zacks ratings and top-tier Style Scores, GOOGL deserves a spot on investors’ watchlists.

Top Analyst’s “Best Pick to Double”

From thousands of stocks, five Zacks experts have each selected their top choice for potential gains of 100% or more in the coming months. Among these, Director of Research Sheraz Mian has identified one standout pick with the highest upside potential.

This company focuses on millennial and Gen Z consumers and generated nearly $1 billion in revenue last quarter. A recent dip in its share price could present a timely opportunity. While not every top pick is a winner, this selection could outperform previous Zacks recommendations, such as Nano-X Imaging, which soared over 129% in just nine months.

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