Better-Than-Expected Trends Lifted Alphabet (GOOG) in Q3

GOOG +0.29%

Brown Advisory, an investment management company, released its “Brown Advisory Large-Cap Growth Strategy” third-quarter 2025 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. The strategy returned -0.88% (net) during the third quarter, underperforming the benchmark, the Russell 1000 Growth Index. Even though the portfolio has significant exposure to AI, its underweight to the most speculative momentum-driven parts of the trade was a headwind to performance. In addition, please check the fund’s top five holdings to know its best picks in 2025.

In its third-quarter 2025 investor letter, Brown Advisory Large-Cap Growth Strategy highlighted stocks such as Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG). Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG), the parent company of Google, offers various platforms and services operating through Google Services, Google Cloud, and Other Bets segments. The one-month return of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) was 10.75%, and its shares gained 81.30% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On December 02, 2025, Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) stock closed at $316.02 per share, with a market capitalization of $3.81 trillion.

Brown Advisory Large-Cap Growth Strategy stated the following regarding Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) in its third quarter 2025 investor letter:

"Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) traded higher during the period, following strong results highlighted by better-than-consensus expected trends in Search, YouTube, and Cloud. The company also received a favorable outcome in its Search antitrust case, avoiding major remedies and preserving its dominant position. Cloud continues to gain momentum, with record backlog growth and expanding margins supporting long-term earnings potential."

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) is in the 7th position on our list of 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 186 hedge fund portfolios held Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) at the end of the third quarter which was 178 in the previous quarter. In the third quarter of 2025, Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) achieved its first-ever $100 billion in revenue. While we acknowledge the potential of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you're looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock.

In another article, we covered Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) and shared the list of stocks Jim Cramer discussed. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q3 2025 page for more investor letters from hedge funds and other leading investors.

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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.