Google Undercuts Some AI Rivals on Price as Gemini 4 Argon Reaches Enterprises

Google parent Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL) is heading into earnings with investors focused on Gemini 4 Argon, expanding AI infrastructure commitments and whether Google can convert its technology and distribution advantages into stronger monetization.

Gemini 4 Argon Expands Google’s AI Push

Google rolled out its Gemini 4 Argon model to developers, enterprises and paying subscribers, extending its AI offering across coding, accounting, legal and other business applications.

The company priced Argon at $2 per million input tokens and $10 per million output tokens, with cached input tokens discounted by 95%.

CEO Sundar Pichai said, “you’re going to see us iterating rapidly,” underscoring Google’s push to keep advancing its AI models.

BNP Paribas Sees More Monetization Paths

BNP Paribas analyst Nick Jones said Gemini 4 Argon reinforces Google’s commitment to competing at the AI frontier.

Jones cited Alphabet’s AI research, proprietary computing infrastructure, distribution and financial resources as key advantages.

He expects Google could eventually offer more models across different price points and use cases. BNP Paribas also sees potential for a consumer-facing AI agent distributed through Google’s existing ecosystem.

The firm has a $420 price target for Alphabet.

Jefferies Highlights Pricing Pressure

Jefferies analyst Brent Thill described the AI model race as a “game of leapfrog.”

He said Argon’s pricing, roughly 50% below some competing models, could force rivals to respond and make broader AI platforms more important.

Thill called Gemini 4 Argon “a great step in the right direction,” while cautioning that Google still needs to prove benchmark gains translate into real-world performance.

He also sees Google and Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT) as well positioned because enterprises increasingly need AI integrated with applications, data, infrastructure and workflows.

Earnings And Infrastructure Take Center Stage

Alphabet is set to report earnings on Oct. 28, 2026.

Analysts expect EPS of $2.89, up from $2.87 a year earlier, and revenue of $116.87 billion versus $102.35 billion in the prior-year period. The stock trades at 17.2 times earnings.

Market attention also remains on a reported $4 billion fuel-cell project tied to Google demand and a long-term nuclear power agreement with Constellation Energy.

Analysts Remain Constructive

Alphabet carries a Buy consensus with an average price forecast of $428.

Recent actions include JP Morgan raising its forecast to $425 with an Overweight rating, UBS lifting its forecast to $380 with a Neutral rating and TD Cowen raising its forecast to $485 while maintaining Buy.

ETF Exposure Could Influence Trading

GOOG carries a 9.37% weighting in the JPMorgan Active Growth ETF (NYSE:JGRO), 8.76% in the Goldman Sachs Technology Opportunities ETF (NASDAQ:GTOP) and 9.99% in the iShares Global Comm Services ETF (NYSE:IXP).

Because of those large weightings, significant fund inflows or outflows could translate into corresponding buying or selling pressure on Alphabet shares.

GOOGL Stock Price Activity: Alphabet shares are trading higher by 0.43% at $349.15 at the time of publication on Thursday, according to Benzinga Pro data.

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