The broad stock market was soaring today in response to news of a two-week ceasefire with Iran that includes reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOG) (NASDAQ: GOOGL) was among the winners, benefiting from a risk-on appetite in response to the detente. Though Alphabet doesn’t have direct exposure to Iran or even high oil prices, it is one of the companies most exposed to the health of the global economy because of its size and focus on digital advertising.
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As of 11:31 a.m. ET, the stock was up 3.7%, outpacing the Nasdaq Composite’s gain of 2.6%.
Tech companies like Alphabet tend to have minimal exposure to oil prices. After all, the company’s main business is advertising, which involves a service rather than a good.
But advertising is highly cyclical, and Alphabet’s growth has ground to a halt in past economic crises as digital advertising spend is closely correlated with economic health and business’s confidence that consumers will spend. The biggest risk for Alphabet in Iran was that the spike in energy prices could cause a global recession.
There was no major company-specific news out on Alphabet today, but Alphabet is a clear beneficiary of the ceasefire and any lasting resolution to the conflict.
The Google parent was red-hot before falling in February on concerns about its surge in capital expenditures and competition from Anthropic and Claude Code. In March, the stock continued to pull back due to the Iran war.
Investors have been impressed with the new Gemini chatbot and large language model, as well as the growth and profitability of Google Cloud.
We’ll get an update from the company at the end of the month, but Alphabet looks to be in position to continue to deliver steady growth, especially if tensions in Iran continue to cool.
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