Analyzing Alphabet’s (GOOGL) Q2 Earnings With AI Prompts

Wall Street’s Q2 earnings season is in full swing, with the spotlight squarely on tech. IBM (IBM) and Alphabet (GOOGL) have already reported, and investors have noted AI’s central role in fueling revenue growth and investor optimism. Amazon (AMZN), Apple (AAPL), Meta (META) and Microsoft (MSFT) are next. Companies beating EPS estimates have recently seen immediate stock gains, with tech continuing to lead the S&P 500 and Nasdaq higher.

Thanks for joining us at AI in Investment Research & Finance, your weekly guide to turning prompt engineering into actionable investment research. In past editions, we highlighted how fund analysts and strategists use AI prompting to decode market trends, from value strategies and macro shifts to cross-asset signals. We’ve also explored exchange-traded fund (ETF) positioning, featuring funds such as MOAT, SPLV, JEPI, GLD, BITO, EDOG, AIQ, QGRW, OMAH, QAI, FLOT, as well as thematic comparisons like SLV vs SIL.  

This week, we apply a similar method to analyze Alphabet’s Q2 2025 earnings released July 23.

Alphabet sits at the crossroads of cloud computing, digital ads and generative AI. While advertising remains its profit engine, Q2 results highlighted rising capital expenditures, deeper AI integration and strong cloud margin expansion. For many on Wall Stret, it is a bold bet on AI’s long-term potential.

Financial highlights from the parent company of Google include:

• Revenue up 14% YoY to $96.4 billion;

• Net income up 19% to $28.2 billion;

• Diluted EPS up 22% to $2.31;

• Google Cloud surged 32% to $13.6 billion, exceeding $50 billion annual run-rate.

• Google Search, YouTube ads, and subscriptions all posted double-digit growth;

• YouTube showed mixed results, while “Other Bets” posted losses.

CEO Sundar Pichai emphasized AI’s transformative impact. Capital expenditures are set to rise 13% to $85 billion, targeting AI chips, data centers, and cloud infrastructure.

Sample Prompts for Analyzing Alphabet's Last Quarter Performance

Let’s now look at several prompts that may help frame Alphabet’s Q2 results through key themes, such as financial performance, strategic priorities and AI developments. Use these prpmts as a starting point for deeper analysis, investor communication or editorial commentary. Understandably, similar prompts will be of use to analyze other company earnings as well. With these prompts, give the LLM a role (such as equity analyst), ask for source citations and an output format in line with your objectives.

📌 Prompt 1: Segment Growth Breakdown

You are an equity analyst reviewing Alphabet’s Q2 2025 earnings.
Provide a breakdown of Alphabet’s revenue by business segment in Q2 2025, with a focus on Google Search, YouTube ads, Cloud and subscriptions. Which areas delivered the strongest growth and what were the year-over-year changes? What changes in monetization or product mix stand out?

→ This helps uncover where Alphabet’s growth is truly accelerating and where momentum may be slowing.

📌 Prompt 2: Capital Expenditure and Strategic Initiatives

You are a tech strategist analyzing Alphabet’s long-term positioning. Based on the company's most recent earnings results, discuss Alphabet’s increased capital expenditure outlook for 2025, detailing the primary areas of investment and the strategic rationale behind them. What do these investments reveal about Alphabet’s competitive positioning and long-term AI monetization plans?

→ This prompt connects capital allocation with strategic intent, crucial in a high-spending AI arms race.

📌 Prompt 3: AI Innovation and Product Pipeline

You are a technology equity analyst specializing in AI integration across large-cap platforms. Evaluate Alphabet’s earnings and related commentary on artificial intelligence in Q2 2025. What role did AI play in the company’s financial performance, and which new AI features or products were highlighted as key growth drivers?

→ This prompt helps isolate the tangible impact of AI on Alphabet’s revenue streams while spotlighting future monetization pathways through product innovation.

ETF Spotlight: IVV — Core Exposure to the U.S. Large-Cap Equity Market

The iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV) offers broad exposure to 500 large-cap U.S. companies across all 11 sectors. With over $640 billion in assets and a 0.03% expense ratio, it ranks among the most liquid and cost-efficient ETFs on the market.

IVV fully replicates the S&P 500, holding constituents in market-cap weightings. Key sector allocations include Information Technology (~34%), Financials (14%), and Consumer Discretionary (10%), while five largest holdings, NVIDIA, Microsoft, Apple, Amazon and Meta, make up ~27% of the fund. Its P/E ratio is around 28.5x, broadly in line with the index.

The fund tracks the index with minimal deviation and distributes quarterly dividends, currently yielding about 1.25%. IVV’s in-kind redemption structure enhances tax efficiency by reducing capital gains distributions.

For most investors, IVV can serve as a foundational holding, especially in long-term, growth-focused portfolios.

AI Prompt for Allocation Guidance:

To determine IVV's optimal fit in your portfolio, consider using an AI assistant with this prompt:

Based on my age (e.g., 35), risk tolerance (e.g., moderate), portfolio size (e.g., $100,000), investment time horizon (e.g., 10 years), and financial goals (e.g., long-term growth), what percentage allocation to the IVV ETF may suit my overall portfolio?

IVV combines scale, simplicity and tax efficiency. As a result, it is a strong building block for core equity exposure.

AI Career Moves: Exciting AI Jobs This Week

Looking for your next opportunity in AI? Explore these standout roles across industries and locations:

📩 Feel free to share this list with anyone looking for AI opportunities!

AI in Markets: Key Trends & Upcoming Events

📊 ECML PKDD 2025 – Porto, Sept 15–19
The European Conference on Machine Learning and Principles and Practice of Knowledge Discovery in Databases (ECML PKDD), an annual conference, on machine learning and data mining featuring peer-reviewed research, workshops, tutorials, and a PhD forum.

🌟 The AI Conference 2025 – San Francisco, Sept 17–18, 2025
A two-day event featuring deep dives into Artificial General Intelligence (AGI), large language models, enterprise infrastructure, alignment, startup innovation, and neural architectures. Over 100 speakers will share cutting-edge research and real-world use cases across industries.

🧾 Altman Surprised by Banks’ Early AI Adoption
At a Fed event, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said financial firms like Morgan Stanley and BNY Mellon were unexpected early adopters of ChatGPT. Despite early concerns over hallucinations, banks embraced the tech quickly, citing existential risks of falling behind. Altman warned of rising deepfake fraud risks as AI advances.

🤝 UK and OpenAI Forge Strategic AI Partnership
The UK government and OpenAI have signed an agreement to advance AI adoption across public services and industry. The partnership includes investment in AI infrastructure, expanded collaboration with the UK’s AI Safety Institute, and plans to grow OpenAI’s footprint beyond its London base.

Stay tuned for next week’s edition, where we’ll explore new AI prompts for deeper sector analysis. To ensure our next newsletter lands in your Inbox, please add our email address [email protected] to your contacts.