Waymo has been a real source of investor excitement over its new valuation report. This reaffirms Jim Cramer’s view that Alphabet stock remains a buy, and more. Launched in 2009 as the Google Self-Driving Car Project, once Alphabet’s moonshot, Waymo is now hurtling toward the moon. The robotaxi business is currently closing on a $16 billion funding round at a valuation of nearly $110 billion, Bloomberg and the Financial Times reported on Saturday. The financing, which could close as early as this month, is said to include participation from new investors including Sequoia Capital, DST Global, and Dragoneer Investment Group. Alphabet stock rose 1.4% on Monday, reaching an intraday high of nearly $345 each, continuing its positive 9.5% gain to start the new year. Google’s parent stock really caught fire last year, rising more than 65% in 2025. For Jim, the Waymo news underscores why Alphabet remains a standout in the tech world. “Right now, Waymo trumps what Tesla is doing,” Jim Cramer said Monday at a morning meeting for club members. Waymo competes with Tesla’s robotaxis, which are being tested in Austin, Texas. Tesla stock fell more than 1% on Monday. Waymo operates in the Phoenix, Arizona area, the San Francisco Bay Area, and Los Angeles. Miami just started last month, and Washington, D.C. is next. Waymo partnered with Uber to serve Austin and Atlanta. There has been speculation about whether Alphabet will eventually spin Waymo into a separate business. But its targeted $110 billion valuation is light years away from rival Tesla’s market capitalization of nearly $1.6 trillion. It’s worth noting that robotaxis are only a small part of Tesla. Tesla announced last week that it would end production of its Model S and Model X electric cars as it transitions to robotic manufacturing. “We know Waymo is a small potato compared to the bulk of Alphabet, but it’s a big potato for a public hungry for what consumers are attracted to: the love of Elon Musk,” Jim wrote in his Sunday column. “These are even better templates for generations of non-drivers to come. Yes, Jaguar’s robotaxis are expensive, but there may be iterations we don’t know about. Suffice it to say: Buy, buy, buy.” Approximately seven years after its founding, Waymo became an independent subsidiary of Alphabet in 2016 and was incorporated into the Other Bets business segment. Over the years, Alphabet’s finances have been strained by heavy investments and losses. As Waymo has expanded, its story has steadily changed. Beyond Waymo, Jim emphasized that Alphabet’s strengths extend across its business portfolio. “Every sector is a dominant sector,” Jim said, citing YouTube as the leading video platform, Gemini’s growing footprint in AI and its partnership with Apple, Google Cloud’s position as No. 3 behind Amazon and Microsoft, and, of course, the continued dominance of Google Search. In his column, Jim also reiterated last year’s concerns about the Justice Department’s antitrust lawsuit, which had clouded the stock. Jim said investors should ignore that risk and focus on the future. “We don’t care where it was, we care where it goes.” Alphabet is scheduled to report fourth-quarter results on Wednesday night. Jim predicts a chaotic quarter. While we’re looking for updates on Waymo, more importantly we want to see not only the growth of Google Cloud, but also what else the company has in store for advances in AI. We maintain Alphabet’s stock with a Buy rating of 1 and a price target of $350 per share. (Jim Cramer’s Charitable Trust is long GOOGL. See here for a complete list of stocks.) As a subscriber to Jim Cramer’s CNBC Investing Club, you’ll receive trade alerts from Jim Cramer before he makes a trade. After Jim sends a trade alert, he waits 45 minutes before buying or selling stocks in his charitable trust’s portfolio. If Jim talks about a stock on CNBC TV, he will issue a trade alert and then wait 72 hours before executing the trade. The above investment club information is subject to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy, along with our disclaimer. No fiduciary duties or obligations exist or arise from your receipt of information provided in connection with the Investment Club. No specific results or benefits are guaranteed.
