New York, February 28, 2026, 10:34 EST — Market closed
- Alphabet Class C (GOOG) finished the day at $311.43, up 1.39% on Friday.
- Meta has reportedly signed a multi-year agreement to lease Google’s AI chips, according to the report.
- Attention now turns to Monday’s market open and the U.S. jobs data due Friday.
Alphabet’s Class C shares, which don’t carry voting rights, finished Friday at $311.43, up 1.39%. U.S. markets are closed over the weekend, resuming Monday. 1
This is significant—Alphabet wants AI to generate revenue, not just expenses. Fresh chip demand might shift the conversation over the speed of return on that investment.
The wrangling hasn’t let up. Investors should expect more nerves, with “back and forth about who might be the victim and those that will actually emerge winners” likely to continue, said Kristina Hooper, chief market strategist at Man Group, in a Reuters report sizing up the coming week. 2
Meta Platforms has agreed to a multi-billion-dollar deal to lease Google’s artificial intelligence chips over several years, according to The Information, which cited someone with direct knowledge of the discussions. Neither Meta nor Google commented when asked. The report also notes that Meta is negotiating with Google to purchase Tensor Processing Units (TPUs) for its own data centers, possibly starting as soon as next year. 3
Alphabet bucked the trend Friday, posting gains even as the broader market struggled and fresh worries cropped up over AI stock valuations. The S&P 500 shed 0.43%, Nasdaq dropped 0.92%. Nvidia? Down 3.5%, according to Reuters. “Semiconductors … have priced in a lot of good news. And now it’s time for a breather,” said Talley Leger, chief market strategist at The Wealth Consulting Group. 4
Alphabet’s Class C shares got a lift Friday but remain roughly 11% under their 52-week high, MarketWatch figures show. About 33 million shares changed hands—well above the 50-day average. The stock also topped Microsoft and Meta for the session. 5
Alphabet has warned investors about the steep costs tied to AI infrastructure. Earlier this month, the company set out a capital spending forecast between $175 billion and $185 billion for 2026. CEO Sundar Pichai told analysts the firm’s AI investments and infrastructure are fueling revenue and growth in all areas. 6
But here’s the hitch: nobody’s quite sure how much or when Alphabet could actually see revenue lift from chip rentals. The AI landscape is notorious for volatile demand, often reshuffling orders among suppliers. Should that spending surge lose momentum, or if customers stick with Nvidia and rivals, Alphabet’s chip ambitions might just end up propping up other units instead of driving fresh growth on their own.
For now, traders are eyeing Monday to see if Meta’s report sparks more buying in Alphabet and other stocks tied to AI, or if it simply fuels more of the recent churn.
Friday, March 6, brings the next big event: February’s U.S. jobs numbers hit at 8:30 a.m. ET. Markets tend to react, as the release has a track record of shifting rate bets and, with them, valuations for large tech names. 7
