New York, Feb 20, 2026, 10:16 EST — Regular session
- Alphabet’s Class C stock climbed roughly 2.1% to $309.87 in morning trading.
- Google has launched its Gemini 3.1 Pro preview for customers using Vertex AI and Gemini Enterprise.
- Google and Sea plan to team up on an “agentic” AI shopping prototype aimed at Shopee.
Alphabet Inc’s Class C shares (GOOG) jumped roughly 2.1% to $309.87 during early Nasdaq action Friday, up from Thursday’s $303.56 close.
The rebound is drawing attention back to Google’s drive to get its AI tools embedded in enterprise workflows—shifting the focus beyond just consumer chat. Every new AI rollout gets scrutinized by investors searching for evidence it can deliver sustained revenue, fast.
It’s a hectic morning for macro headlines. Softer growth numbers tend to fuel bets on rate cuts; hotter inflation does the reverse, and tech names are usually right in the crosshairs.
Google is rolling out Gemini 3.1 Pro in preview, targeting enterprises using Vertex AI and Gemini Enterprise, and opening it up to developers via the Gemini API across Google AI Studio and Android Studio. DeepMind’s model card bills the system as “multimodal”—not just text, but images, audio, video—built for more demanding reasoning and tool use. JetBrains’ AI director Vladislav Tankov described it as a “clear quality leap.” Over at Databricks, Hanlin Tang pointed to “impressive reasoning” in enterprise scenarios. Google Cloud
Google has struck a deal with Sea Ltd to build out AI solutions for Sea’s Shopee and Garena divisions, rolling out what it calls an “agentic shopping” prototype—AI that acts directly within apps instead of just replying to user prompts. Shopee grabbed a 52% slice of Southeast Asia’s e-commerce market in 2024, according to consultancy Momentum Works, which both companies cited in statements. Alibaba’s Lazada remains the heavyweight competitor in the area. Reuters
Stocks in the U.S. slipped at the open after fresh data revealed fourth-quarter GDP expanded at just a 1.4% annualized rate, falling short of the 3.0% estimate. The Fed’s preferred inflation measure, the personal consumption expenditures price index, came in unexpectedly hot for December. “That’s generally not a good combination for the stock market,” said Steve Wyett, chief investment strategist at BOK Financial. Despite the numbers, traders continued to price in a Fed rate cut for June and monitored potential Supreme Court action on tariffs. Reuters
Nvidia’s earnings are on deck for Wednesday, putting more heat on AI and the cloud firms snapping up its hardware. Microsoft has dropped over 17% so far this year, Amazon is down 11%, according to Reuters. “It’s hard for Nvidia to surprise when everyone expects it to surprise,” said Empower’s Marta Norton, chief investment strategist. Reuters
Most of Alphabet’s revenue still comes from ads linked to Google Search and YouTube. Google Cloud, meanwhile, is where the company is squaring off with Microsoft and Amazon on AI. The Class C shares don’t have voting rights—yet that’s the ticker in play for most traders.
Still, it’s the revenue that needs to catch up with the AI story. Should growth lose more momentum, or inflation refuse to ease, ad spend could get squeezed—pulling down mega-cap tech valuations in a hurry.
Alphabet traders are watching for signs of how fast Gemini 3.1 Pro rolls out to enterprise clients, while Nvidia’s earnings report on Wednesday, Feb. 25, is poised to offer a read on AI demand up and down the supply chain.
