New York, Feb 20, 2026, 10:16 EST — Regular session
- Alphabet Class C shares were up about 2.1% at $309.87 in morning trade
- Google rolled out Gemini 3.1 Pro in preview for Vertex AI and Gemini Enterprise customers
- Google and Sea said they will build an “agentic” AI shopping prototype for Shopee
Alphabet Inc’s Class C shares (GOOG) rose about 2.1% to $309.87 in early Nasdaq trade on Friday, after closing at $303.56 a day earlier.
The bounce puts a fresh spotlight on Google’s effort to push its AI products into paying business workflows, not just consumer chat. Investors have been testing every new AI release for signs it can translate into durable revenue, quickly.
It also lands on a morning when macro headlines are moving fast. A softer growth picture can support rate-cut hopes, but hotter inflation can do the opposite, and tech stocks tend to feel those swings.
Google said it was making Gemini 3.1 Pro available in preview for enterprises on Vertex AI and Gemini Enterprise, and for developers through the Gemini API across tools such as Google AI Studio and Android Studio. DeepMind’s model card describes it as a “multimodal” system — meaning it can handle more than text, including images, audio and video — aimed at tougher reasoning and tool use; JetBrains’ AI director Vladislav Tankov called it a “clear quality leap”, while Databricks’ Hanlin Tang said it showed “impressive reasoning” for enterprise tasks. (Google Cloud)
Google also announced a partnership with Sea Ltd to develop AI tools for Sea’s Shopee and Garena units, including an “agentic shopping” prototype — AI designed to take actions inside an app, rather than only answer questions. Shopee had a 52% share of Southeast Asia’s e-commerce market in 2024, consultancy Momentum Works said in a report cited by the companies, and Alibaba’s Lazada is a key rival in the region. (Reuters)
U.S. stocks opened lower after data showed fourth-quarter GDP grew at a 1.4% annualized pace versus forecasts of 3.0%, while the personal consumption expenditures price index — the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge — ran hotter than expected in December. “That’s generally not a good combination for the stock market,” said Steve Wyett, chief investment strategist at BOK Financial; the report also said traders still leaned toward the Fed cutting rates in June and were watching for a possible Supreme Court ruling on tariffs. (Reuters)
Next week’s earnings from Nvidia, due Wednesday, are another pressure point for the AI trade and for the cloud companies buying its chips. Microsoft shares are down more than 17% this year and Amazon is off 11%, Reuters reported, and “it’s hard for Nvidia to surprise when everyone expects it to surprise,” said Marta Norton, chief investment strategist at Empower. (Reuters)
Alphabet still draws the bulk of its sales from advertising tied to Google Search and YouTube, while Google Cloud is a key battleground against Microsoft and Amazon in AI services. The Class C stock carries no voting rights, but it is the line most traders use.
But the AI pitch still has to show up in revenue. If growth slows further or inflation stays sticky, ad budgets can tighten and valuations on mega-cap tech can compress quickly.
For Alphabet traders, focus now turns to how quickly Gemini 3.1 Pro lands with enterprise customers — and to Nvidia’s earnings on Wednesday, Feb. 25, for clues on AI demand across the supply chain.
