Alphabet's GOOGL Stock Takes Top Honors Among Traders for AI Infrastructure

Alphabet's GOOGL stock took top honors in a recent poll among over 3,300 respondents on Stocktwits, garnering 36% of the vote as the most popular hyperscaler pick for the next 12 months. The Google-parent edged out Microsoft (MSFT) with 22%, while Amazon (AMZN) and Meta Platforms (META) tied at 21%. These four companies are expected to collectively spend nearly $700 billion on AI infrastructure in 2026, sparking concerns about potential pressure on free cash flow.

The poll comes as investors focus on the scale of spending required to build AI infrastructure. Alphabet is projecting capital expenditures of around $195-205 billion in 2026, almost double its estimated $91-93 billion in 2025. Amazon expects to spend approximately $200 billion, while Microsoft's capex is projected to reach $190 billion and Meta plans to spend between $130-145 billion.

Some traders questioned Microsoft's ability to fund its AI investments, while others argued that Meta could have more upside from AI despite Alphabet's advantage in computing infrastructure. Meta currently offers the highest implied upside based on average analyst price targets, with a target of $754.14 implying roughly 30% upside. However, the company has posted the weakest trailing one-year stock performance among the four, with shares down over 26%.