Alphabet Surpasses Apple in Market Cap as Google Cloud and Gemini AI Drive $4.1T Valuation; Estée Lauder Upgraded on Asia Growth; Torq Ltd. Raises $140M in Series C

TL;DR

• Alphabet’s market cap surpasses $3.97 trillion as Google Cloud grows 33–34% YoY and Gemini AI drives re-rating amid rising AI infrastructure demand
• Torq Ltd. raises $140M in Series C funding at $1.2B valuation, expanding AI-driven security hyperautomation platform with enterprise clients including PepsiCo and Siemens
• Wells Fargo and Raymond James upgrade Estée Lauder to Strong Buy with $130 price target, citing turnaround execution, middle-class growth in Asia, and FY25 earnings low point behind
• Sora Technology secures $2.5M late seed funding to scale AI-powered drone solutions for malaria control in West and East Africa, reducing insecticide use by 70%
• Nex Playground generates $180M in 2025 retail revenue with 650K console units sold, leveraging $89 annual subscription model and TV platform partnerships
• Bioeconomy Corporation of Malaysia targets MYR 2.2B ($540M) revenue in 2026, backed by national biotech policy and first local biotech unicorn status

Alphabet Surpasses $3.97 Trillion Market Cap as Cloud and AI Drive Structural Revenue Shifts

Alphabet’s market capitalization reached $3.97–$4.10 trillion in Q3 2025, surpassing Apple for the first time since 2019. This re-rating is anchored in sustained growth across Google Cloud and Gemini AI services.

How is Google Cloud contributing to the valuation?

Google Cloud revenue reached $15.2 billion in Q3 2025, up 34% year-over-year. Cloud backlog increased 46% YoY to $155 billion, reflecting long-term customer commitments. Multi-year contracts exceeding $1 billion signed in Q3 ensure predictable revenue streams, supporting higher enterprise valuations.

What role does Gemini AI play in Alphabet’s growth?

Gemini-3, launched in Q4 2025, powers Vertex AI, Search, YouTube, and external developer APIs. AI-related web traffic share rose to 21%, with API call volume increasing 20% month-over-month. Per-token revenue uplift contributed to a 16% upward revision in AI-services revenue projections. Seventy percent of Cloud customers now use at least one Gemini-integrated service, creating a cross-selling flywheel.

How is Search monetization evolving amid AI-generated answers?

AI-generated zero-click answers now appear on approximately 15% of search queries, reducing traditional ad-click volume. Alphabet mitigated this through Sponsored Knowledge Cards and AI-mode ad formats, preserving $74 billion in Q3 advertising revenue. These formats now offset more than 50% of estimated click erosion.

What infrastructure investments support scalability?

Alphabet acquired Intersect Power for $4.75 billion, adding 2 GW of renewable energy capacity. This reduces data-center PUE and stabilizes energy costs, improving ESG metrics and operational margins. TPU fabrication capacity is 12% booked through 2027, prompting strategic partnerships with TSMC and diversification into GPU-based inference to manage supply constraints.

How does Alphabet compare to peers in AI-cloud growth?

Alphabet’s scale enables cost advantages in data-center construction and TPU pricing, undercutting rivals on AI-training workloads.

What are the key risks?

Margin compression from high capital expenditure remains a concern if cloud utilisation falls below 70%. Regulatory scrutiny over AI labeling and antitrust probes could impact ad inventory. Supply chain constraints for TPUs pose a secondary risk, mitigated by diversified hardware partnerships and long-term power purchase agreements.

What is the forward outlook?

Cloud revenue is projected to reach $19.5 billion by Q4 2026. AI-services revenue is expected to grow to $6.1 billion, with operating margin expanding to 33%. Share price targets range from $380 to $425, reflecting a re-rated P/S multiple of approximately 12x, supported by dual revenue engines and structural demand for AI infrastructure.

Wells Fargo and Raymond James Upgrade Estée Lauder to Strong Buy on Turnaround and Asia Growth

Wells Fargo and Raymond James upgraded Estée Lauder on January 11, 2026, citing improved operational execution and growth in Asia’s middle class. Raymond James raised its rating to Strong Buy with a $130 price target, while Wells Fargo maintained an Equal-Weight rating but increased its target to $111.

What drives the revised valuation?

• Turnaround execution: Analysts confirm transition from strategic planning to measurable results. FY25 marks the low point for earnings, with projected EPS growth of 8% YoY and margin expansion of 120 basis points.
• US market-share gains: Incremental 0.8–1.2 percentage points in market share contribute approximately 1.5% to FY25 revenue growth.
• Asian middle-class expansion: Asia-Pacific net sales expected to grow at 3–4% CAGR (FY25–FY28), offsetting slower demand in China.
• Resilient Chinese consumer spending: China remains a floor for revenue, contributing over 12% of total sales despite recent macro adjustments.

What is the timeline for recovery?

• FY24: EPS down 4% YoY; sales growth at 1%. Earnings trough.
• FY25: EPS up 8% YoY; margin expansion begins. Analysts upgrade targets.
• FY26–FY28: Revenue CAGR of 5–6%, EPS CAGR of 9–12%. Cost efficiencies and product launches drive margin expansion to 180+ basis points by FY27.

Why the target divergence?

Raymond James’s $130 target reflects higher confidence in Asia’s growth momentum and execution risk. Wells Fargo’s $111 target reflects a more conservative view of near-term catalysts. The 19-point spread indicates differing assumptions on macro demand, not fundamental disagreement.

What next?

• Q2 2026 earnings report (expected >8% EPS growth) will validate the turnaround.
• Launch of premium skincare in Southeast Asia in H2 2026 could add 1.5–2% YoY revenue.
• FY27 SG&A reductions of 3% may drive margin expansion and target convergence around $120–$125.
• By FY28, sustained 4% CAGR in Asian sales and stable US share could justify a $130–$140 valuation.

Risk factors include prolonged Chinese consumer pullback, supply-chain delays, or stalled US market-share gains, which could reduce upside by 5–7%.

Investors may consider entry near $105–$110, contingent on confirming FY25 earnings performance. Management must continue demonstrating margin improvement to sustain upward re-rating.

Torq Raises $140M to Scale AI Hyperautomation for Global Supply Chains

Torq Ltd. has raised $140 million in a Series E round, valuing the company at $1.2 billion. The funding will expand its autonomous workflow orchestration platform, which integrates with ERP, TMS, and IoT systems to automate supply chain processes for enterprise clients including Siemens, PepsiCo, and Uber.

What measurable benefits does the platform deliver?

Internal case studies show:

• 10–30% reduction in end-to-end cycle times
• 15–25% cost savings per transaction
• 20–40% improvement in on-time delivery metrics

Torq differentiates from traditional RPA tools by using LLM-driven agents that reason across systems without manual scripting, enabling plug-and-play integration with existing enterprise infrastructure.

How does Torq compare to competitors?

What are the key risks and mitigations?

• Integration delays: Pre-built connectors for SAP S/4HANA, Siemens Digital Twin, and Uber APIs reduce onboarding to ≤3 months.
• Data privacy: Role-based access, audit logs, and on-premise inference options comply with GDPR and upcoming EU AI Act.
• AI reliability: Human-in-the-loop checkpoints and client-specific model fine-tuning address multi-step task failure rates.

What are the next milestones?

• H2 2026: Global rollout with Siemens for digital-twin-driven production scheduling, targeting 5% of supply chain footprint.
• 2027: $120M ARR from multi-year contracts with PepsiCo and Uber; expansion into EMEA and APAC.
• 2028: Strategic compute partnership with Azure or Google Cloud for dedicated AI inference pods.
• 2029–2030: Target 30% market share in enterprise hyperautomation; launch Torq-AI Marketplace for third-party modules.

The $140 million funding accelerates Torq’s transition from pilot deployments to production-scale automation. Execution success depends on maintaining integration velocity, regulatory compliance, and securing compute capacity—areas where Torq has demonstrated proactive measures.

Torq is positioned to become a core platform for autonomous supply chain orchestration, aligned with the $30 billion enterprise hyperautomation market projected for 2028.