Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOGL) shares rose 0.64% to close at $312.90 on Feb. 25, 2026, extending a strong recovery as the Google parent company continues to demonstrate accelerating revenue growth fueled by artificial intelligence advancements and surging demand for Google Cloud, even as massive capital expenditures raise questions about near-term returns.

The modest daily gain came amid elevated trading volume of nearly 30 million shares and followed a period of consolidation after the stock hit a 52-week high near $349 earlier in February. Year-to-date, Alphabet has lagged the broader market slightly but remains up more than 70% over the past 12 months, reflecting sustained investor enthusiasm for its AI leadership despite a recent pullback from peaks.

The primary catalyst remains Alphabet’s fourth-quarter 2025 earnings reported Feb. 4, 2026, which showcased record performance. Consolidated revenues jumped 18% year over year to $113.8 billion, surpassing expectations, while net income rose 30% to $34.5 billion and diluted earnings per share climbed 31% to $2.82, beating consensus estimates of around $2.61. Google Services revenues increased 14% to $95.9 billion, driven by 17% growth in Search & other and strong contributions from subscriptions and devices. YouTube ads and subscriptions pushed the platform’s full-year revenue above $60 billion for the first time.

Google Cloud delivered standout results, with revenues surging 48% to $17.7 billion amid booming demand for AI infrastructure and enterprise solutions. The segment’s operating income turned sharply positive, highlighting improved profitability as AI tools like Gemini integrate deeply into customer workflows. CEO Sundar Pichai highlighted that the Gemini app now exceeds 750 million monthly active users, with first-party models processing over 10 billion tokens per minute via API.

To fuel this momentum, Alphabet guided 2026 capital expenditures to $175 billion-$185 billion — nearly double the $91.4 billion spent in 2025 — primarily for AI data centers, compute capacity and infrastructure to meet exploding demand. The forecast, announced alongside earnings, initially pressured shares due to concerns over elevated spending and uncertain monetization timelines in a competitive AI landscape. However, analysts have increasingly viewed the investment as a moat-widening move, positioning Alphabet ahead in the race against rivals like Microsoft and Amazon.

Recent developments reinforce this narrative. On Feb. 25, Alphabet announced that its robotics software company Intrinsic, formerly an “Other Bets” moonshot, would fold into Google to accelerate physical AI integration. The move streamlines operations and aligns robotics efforts with broader AI ambitions. Alphabet has also secured major clean energy deals, including partnerships with Xcel Energy in Minnesota and AES in Texas, to power new data centers sustainably amid regulatory and grid constraints.

The company raised over $30 billion in a global debt offering earlier in February to support these expenditures, underscoring confidence in long-term cash flows despite higher leverage. Alphabet maintains a robust balance sheet with significant net cash and initiated or increased dividends, including a $0.21 quarterly payout (ex-date March 9, 2026).

Regulatory and competitive dynamics persist as risks. Antitrust scrutiny continues following prior rulings, though favorable outcomes — such as avoiding severe remedies like divesting Chrome or Android — have eased overhangs and boosted sentiment. Ongoing cases in the U.S. and EU could influence future operations, but analysts note Alphabet’s data advantages and scale provide resilience.

Institutional activity reflects mixed but generally positive views. Some funds trimmed positions modestly, while others added significantly; Stratos Wealth Partners increased holdings by millions. Consensus analyst targets hover around $366-$376, implying 17-20% upside from current levels, with a “Moderate Buy” rating. Valuation stands at a forward P/E near 28x based on projected 2026 earnings, elevated from historical averages but justified by accelerating growth.

Broader market context includes AI sector enthusiasm, with peers facing similar capex pressures. Bond investors have flagged AI spending bubbles as a top risk, yet Alphabet’s execution — including Gemini integrations with partners like Apple for Siri enhancements and Walmart for shopping — demonstrates tangible progress toward monetization.

As the company prepares for Q1 2026 earnings in late April, focus will remain on cloud backlog (nearing $240 billion), AI-driven search expansions like AI Overviews, and capex deployment efficiency. With annual revenues surpassing $400 billion for the first time in 2025 and clear paths to higher margins, Alphabet appears well-positioned to capitalize on the AI era despite short-term spending headwinds.

Investors continue monitoring geopolitical factors, energy costs for data centers and competitive AI model releases. For now, the stock’s resilience amid heavy investment signals market belief in Alphabet’s ability to convert scale and innovation into sustained leadership and shareholder value.

At a time when India’s banking system is witnessing a steady recovery in credit growth, concerns around the loan-to-deposit ratio (LDR) have resurfaced. The debate has centred on whether rising credit growth relative to deposits could become a structural headwind, particularly for public sector banks.

Speaking to ET Now, Yuvraj Choudhary from Anand Rathi Institutional offered a data-backed perspective, arguing that the issue may be less severe for PSU banks than widely perceived.

Responding to concerns that the industry’s loan-to-deposit ratio has been climbing in recent quarters, Choudhary said, “So basically, loan to deposit. So, if we look at the broad data, so the loan to deposit has been going up in the last few quarters because credit growth has been faster than the deposit growth. However, for PSU banks, if you look at the overall data, for PSU banks the credit to deposit ratio is almost 10% lower than the private banks. So, there has been lot of talks around PSU bank struggling in the LDR ratio. However, if we look at the recent trends, say for example for SBI, the credit to deposit ratio for SBI is close to 73-74%, which is much lower than what the industry is at. So, although credit to deposit ratio has been going up, but it is less of a problem for PSU banks compared to private banks.”

The example of State Bank of India (SBI) underscores the point. With a credit-to-deposit ratio in the low-70% range, SBI appears to have significant headroom compared with several private peers operating at tighter levels.

Deposit Growth Catching Up

While PSU banks have faced questions around deposit mobilisation, Choudhary noted that the gap between credit and deposit growth is beginning to narrow.
“See, if you look at the overall deposit for the PSU banks, obviously it was lower than the credit growth; however, in the last few quarters deposit growth has started to pick up. So, obviously going forward, deposits it is a very key matrix, so deposit growth would be very important for PSU banks to sustain their credit growth; however, again I would like to reiterate, it is lesser of a problem for PSU banks compared to private banks.”
On system-wide credit expansion, he added that PSU banks have actually been leading the charge in recent quarters. “See, if you look at the recent credit growth, so PSU banks have been outperforming private banks now for multiple quarters on the credit growth side. So, if you look at the balance sheet structure the CD ratio has been increasing for PSU banks because essentially now they are lending, so the lending has increased. So, we expect this trend to continue because firstly, PSU banks has better deposit franchise compared to private banks and secondly, if you look at the investment book, they have higher liquidity which means higher SLR compared to private banks.”
In other words, rising CD ratios for PSU banks reflect a revival in lending activity rather than a liquidity squeeze.

Microfinance: Signs of a Turnaround
Beyond mainstream banking, Choudhary also addressed the microfinance segment, which has undergone a prolonged stress cycle over the past year to 18 months. With valuations correcting sharply, investors are watching closely for signs of stabilisation.

“See, if we look at microfinance, it has gone through a difficult cycle in last one, one-and-a-half years. So, if you look at the recent trends, say specifically the collections and disbursements, so in last couple of quarters so there has been a significant improvement in collections. So, it is close to the normalised levels and if you look at the disbursements, it has started to pick up across the sector. So, fundamentally if you look at the MFI sector, it is starting to normalise. So, if this continues, the rerating might come.”

Improving collections and a pickup in fresh disbursements suggest that the worst of the asset-quality stress may be behind the sector, opening the door for potential rerating over the coming quarters.

PSUs Outperforming on Key Metrics
When asked about broader banking preferences, Choudhary highlighted three parameters — asset quality, loan growth and return on equity — where PSU banks are currently ahead.

“So, if you look at the last few quarters, even if you look at this quarter, so if you look at broadly three parameters, asset quality, loan growth, and ROEs, so PSU banks have clearly outperformed private banks on three parameters. If you look at asset quality, their gross slippages on an aggregate basis is 60 basis points for PSU banks, it is 100 basis point lower than private banks. So, that is a very healthy asset quality for them. So, it has been now for few quarters now that they have been outperforming private banks on asset quality. Secondly, even if you look at the loan growth number, the outperformance is there and lastly, on the ROE side, so on an aggregate basis PSU banks are generating an ROE closer to 15%, so that is 200 to 300 basis points higher than private banks. So clearly, the performance is there. So, we expect PSU banks to outperform private banks at least in the near term.”

Are Earnings Too Dependent on Non-Core Income?
A lingering concern among some analysts is whether PSU bank profitability is being flattered by non-core income — including treasury gains and recoveries — rather than sustainable core operations.

Addressing this, Choudhary said, “So, that is a very good question. So, if you look at, so obviously treasury and recoveries are part of the normal operations for any of the bank. So, let us take an example of SBI. So, for SBI even if we remove the whole income from recovery part, income from treasury parts, so they are generating an ROA which is closer to 80 basis point on a normalised level and it has been for last multiple quarters. And if you talk about say again taking an example for SBI, so in the last 10 years on an average they have…, so their income from recovery pool is closer to 10 basis point and if you look at the treasury for last 25 years for SBI on a normalised basis, so they have generated an income of 10 to 15 basis point from their treasury pool. So, the point here is that it is a part of their operations. So, 80 to 90 basis point they are generating without treasury and recovery and if we add that, so the ROA numbers come close to 1 to 1.1%.”

His argument suggests that while treasury gains and recoveries do support earnings, the underlying return metrics remain reasonably healthy even after stripping out these components.

Near-Term Bias Favors PSUs
Taken together, the data points to a shift in momentum within the banking pack. PSU banks, once seen as laggards, are currently delivering stronger credit growth, cleaner asset quality trends and superior return ratios.

If deposit growth continues to improve and the microfinance cycle stabilises as expected, the near-term performance gap between public and private sector lenders could persist — reshaping investor preferences in India’s banking landscape.

Selena Gomez reaffirmed her affection for husband Benny Blanco with a romantic Instagram Story post on Feb. 25, 2026, captioning a kissing video “I fall more and more in love with you every day my love” — a move many interpreted as a direct response to viral backlash over his barefoot, visibly dirty feet and on-air flatulence during the debut of his podcast “Friends Keep Secrets.”

The controversy ignited after the premiere episode streamed on YouTube earlier this week. Blanco, 37, lounged casually on a couch barefoot, with close-up shots highlighting dirt and grime on his soles around the 1:09 mark. He also audibly farted into the microphone as a joke, prompting laughter from co-hosts Lil Dicky and Kristin Batalucco but sparking widespread disgust online.

Screenshots and clips spread rapidly across X, TikTok and Instagram, with fans expressing shock and some urging Gomez to end the marriage. Comments included “That is disgusting idk how Selena is dealing with this,” “Selena needs to divorce him and find someone better,” and calls to “sign those divorce papers now.” Others focused on hygiene concerns, with one viral post sharing a zoomed-in image of his blackened feet that garnered thousands of reactions.

The backlash extended to memes and resurfaced discussions about Blanco’s laid-back, unconventional habits. Some noted that both Gomez and Blanco went barefoot during portions of their November 2025 wedding reception, suggesting she’s long accepted his relaxed style.

Gomez, 33, addressed the noise indirectly through her affectionate post. The video showed the couple laughing and sharing multiple kisses in what appeared to be a casual outdoor setting, emphasizing deepening love just days before their five-month wedding anniversary on Feb. 28.

The couple, who confirmed their romance in late 2023 after years in the same industry circles, married in an intimate ceremony attended by close friends including Taylor Swift. Blanco has produced music for Gomez, and both have spoken publicly about their strong bond, with Gomez calling him her “absolute everything” and Blanco expressing hopes for a family.

“Friends Keep Secrets” positions itself as an unfiltered, authentic conversation series avoiding typical macho tropes, featuring eclectic guests from family members to innovators. The raw format — including bodily humor and casual vibes — aligns with Blanco’s vision but clearly polarized viewers in this debut.

Defenders argued the moment was harmless in a relaxed podcast setting and shouldn’t overshadow Blanco’s talent or the couple’s happiness. Critics, however, questioned how it reflected on Gomez’s polished public image.

As of Feb. 26, Gomez has made no further comments, and the Instagram Story remains up. Blanco has stayed silent on the hygiene critiques, with the podcast continuing to draw attention and views amid the viral storm.

The episode underscores the intense scrutiny on celebrity relationships, where even minor quirks can spark outsized reactions. Gomez, who has openly discussed mental health, lupus and past high-profile romances, has increasingly focused on selective sharing while prioritizing her personal life.

Supportive fans flooded her post with hearts and praise for rising above the criticism, while the discourse continues online. The incident highlights how quickly social media amplifies personal moments — from dirty feet to declarations of love — in the public eye.

For now, Gomez’s message stands clear: her love grows stronger, unfazed by the chatter.

The search for Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of “Today” show co-anchor Savannah Guthrie, stretched into its fourth week on Feb. 26, 2026, with law enforcement preparing to release her Tucson-area home back to the family after extensive forensic processing, sources familiar with the investigation told NBC News.

Guthrie was reported missing on Feb. 1 after she failed to appear at church, prompting a friend to alert authorities. Investigators believe she was taken against her will from her home in the Catalina Foothills area north of Tucson during the early morning hours of Jan. 31 or Feb. 1. The Pima County Sheriff’s Office has classified the case as a kidnapping, with evidence suggesting a targeted abduction.

A significant development came earlier this week when Savannah Guthrie announced on Instagram that the family is offering up to $1 million for information leading to her mother’s recovery. In a emotional video posted Feb. 24, Savannah Guthrie said, “Someone knows how to find our mom and bring her home,” urging tips to the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI or directly to her, while noting anonymity is possible. The family reward aligns with FBI criteria and supplements the bureau’s own $50,000 offer.

The announcement triggered an immediate surge in activity: More than 23,000 calls have flooded the FBI tip line since Guthrie’s disappearance, including 750 in the first 12 hours after the reward video, according to a senior official. The post also prompted renewed law enforcement presence at the home on Feb. 25, with investigators, including prosecutors from Pima County, returning for what appeared to be final walkthroughs before releasing the property.

The home has been a focal point of the probe since the outset. Authorities recovered DNA evidence, including mixed samples that required processing at a private lab in Florida. However, delays in sorting the DNA could extend up to a year, officials have indicated, tempering earlier hopes for quick breakthroughs. Blood was reportedly found near the front door and on the ground outside, and footage released by the FBI shows an armed individual in a ski mask and backpack tampering with the doorbell camera and possibly removing recording devices on the night of the disappearance. Additional video recovered later contradicted initial reports of “no video” at the scene.

Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos has publicly cleared all family members, including Savannah Guthrie, her siblings, and spouses, of any involvement. The sheriff has described the abduction as “very targeted,” with speculation about possible surveillance of the home in advance. Investigators are coordinating with Mexican authorities amid concerns the suspect or suspects may have crossed the border, though no confirmed leads in that direction have been disclosed.

Multiple ransom notes have surfaced, according to some reports, but details remain limited as the investigation continues. The FBI’s Phoenix field office is leading the effort, with assistance from local sheriff’s deputies and other agencies. As of Feb. 25, the search marked Day 25, with no arrests and no confirmed sightings of Guthrie since she entered her home.

Nancy Guthrie, born Nancy Ellen Long on Jan. 27, 1942, in Fort Wright, Kentucky, has three children, including Savannah, Annie, and Camron. She lived independently despite mobility limitations and required regular medication. Her disappearance has drawn national attention due to her daughter’s prominence, with Savannah Guthrie repeatedly appealing for prayers and information on air and social media. The “Today” host has shared that her mother’s deep faith influenced her own, and she has described the ordeal as heartbreaking.

The case has also sparked widespread online discussion, including unverified theories and conspiracy claims on social media platforms like X, ranging from possible connections to family associates to speculation about the suspect’s identity. Authorities have urged the public to avoid spreading unsubstantiated rumors and to focus on providing credible tips.

As the investigation progresses, the return of the home to the family signals a shift from intensive on-site forensics to broader canvassing and tip follow-up. Officials continue to express hope that the increased reward and public awareness will generate the break needed to locate Guthrie.

Anyone with information is encouraged to contact the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324) or submit tips online at tips.fbi.gov. The family has emphasized that the $1 million reward applies specifically to information leading to Nancy Guthrie’s recovery, per established FBI guidelines.

The emotional toll on the Guthrie family remains evident, with Savannah Guthrie’s public pleas underscoring the urgency. As the search enters late February, the nation watches and waits for resolution in this high-profile case.