Executive Departure: Ruben Mayer, the former Senior Vice President of GenAI Product and Operations at Scale AI, has left Meta just two months after the partnership began, citing a “personal matter.” His exit raises questions about the collaboration's stability.
Shift in Vendor Preferences: Meta's TBD Labs is reportedly turning to rival data labeling vendors, such as Mercor and Surge, for upcoming AI models, despite having invested heavily in Scale AI. Researchers at TBD Labs have expressed concerns over the quality of Scale AI's data.
Financial Implications of the Partnership
Investment and Layoffs: Meta's strategic minority investment of $14.3 billion in Scale AI, which valued the startup at over $29 billion, was followed by Scale AI laying off 14% of its workforce. The layoffs were attributed to shifts in market demand, as stated by the new CEO, Jason Droege.
Impact on AI Development: The combination of challenges with Scale AI and a hiring freeze at Meta could hinder the company's AI development efforts, which are critical to its long-term strategy.
Meta's Hiring Freeze and Performance Metrics
Hiring Freeze Details: Meta has implemented a hiring freeze in its AI division after facing backlash over aggressive recruitment practices, including high compensation packages. This freeze affects both external hires and internal transfers.
Performance Rankings: According to Benzinga's Edge Rankings, Meta is positioned in the 81st percentile for quality and the 85th percentile for growth, indicating strong performance metrics despite current challenges.
GOOG
$309.32+Infinity%1D
Analyst Views on GOOG
Wall Street analysts forecast GOOG stock price to rise over the next 12 months. According to Wall Street analysts, the average 1-year price target for GOOG is 313.25 USD with a low forecast of 255.00 USD and a high forecast of 350.00 USD. However, analyst price targets are subjective and often lag stock prices, so investors should focus on the objective reasons behind analyst rating changes, which better reflect the company's fundamentals.
15 Analyst Rating
Wall Street analysts forecast GOOG stock price to rise over the next 12 months. According to Wall Street analysts, the average 1-year price target for GOOG is 313.25 USD with a low forecast of 255.00 USD and a high forecast of 350.00 USD. However, analyst price targets are subjective and often lag stock prices, so investors should focus on the objective reasons behind analyst rating changes, which better reflect the company's fundamentals.
14 Buy
1 Hold
0 Sell
Strong Buy
Current: 310.520
Low
255.00
Averages
313.25
High
350.00
Current: 310.520
Low
255.00
Averages
313.25
High
350.00
TD Cowen
Buy
maintain
$335 -> $350
2025-12-12
New
Reason
TD Cowen
Price Target
$335 -> $350
2025-12-12
New
maintain
Buy
Reason
TD Cowen raised the firm's price target on Alphabet (GOOG) to $350 from $335 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. The firm increased the company's search estimates on its "positive" U.S. survey data. The data show ramping Gemini chatbot usage following the launch of Gemini 3, continued increases in search engagement driven by AI Mode and AI Overviews usage, and increasing share of ChatGPT users that are also using Gemini, the analyst tells investors in a research note.
William Blair
William Blair
maintain
$28.83
2025-12-11
New
Reason
William Blair
William Blair
Price Target
$28.83
2025-12-11
New
maintain
Reason
William Blair took a "sober look" at Warby Parker's (WBRY) partnership with Google (GOOG, GOOGL). Warby shares are down 3% to $28.83 in afternoon trading. In the early days, "maybe" Google's artificial intelligence glasses can research $20M in annual sales, "but certainly not in 2026," the analyst tells investors in a research note. The firm says it has heard of "some relatively aggressive assumptions" on what the Google partnership with Warby Parker for AI-enabled glasses could contribute from a revenue and margin standpoint in recent weaks. Blair analyzed the potential for the glasses relative to the partnership between Meta (META) and EssilorLuxottica for the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses. The firm points out that EssilorLuxottica has 55-times the amount of physical stores compared to Warby Parker. At an average price point of $450, assuming the Google AI glasses are priced competitively to Ray-Ban Meta, this would support total unit sales of 45,000, Blair estimates.
Citizens
Market Perform
to
Outperform
upgrade
$30
2025-12-10
Reason
Citizens
Price Target
$30
2025-12-10
upgrade
Market Perform
to
Outperform
Reason
Citizens upgraded Warby Parker (WRBY) to Outperform from Market Perform with a $30 price target. The firm views the upcoming launch of Google's (GOOG, GOOGL) artificial intelligence glasses on Warby's platform as a "significant catalyst" for the shares. The glasses are important for Google's ongoing distribution of search and other products, which explains why the company is willing to commit $75M to cover Warby's expenses for the launch, the analyst tells investors in a research note. Citizens believes the glasses can drive Warby Parker's estimates significantly higher. The stock in morning trading is up 4% to $24.16.
BNP Paribas Exane
Nick Jones
Outperform
initiated
$355
2025-11-24
Reason
BNP Paribas Exane
Nick Jones
Price Target
$355
2025-11-24
initiated
Outperform
Reason
BNP Paribas Exane analyst Nick Jones initiated coverage of Alphabet with an Outperform rating and $355 price target.
About GOOG
Alphabet Inc. is a holding company. The Company's segments include Google Services, Google Cloud, and Other Bets. The Google Services segment includes products and services such as ads, Android, Chrome, devices, Google Maps, Google Play, Search, and YouTube. The Google Cloud segment includes infrastructure and platform services, collaboration tools, and other services for enterprise customers. Its Other Bets segment is engaged in the sale of healthcare-related services and Internet services. Its Google Cloud provides enterprise-ready cloud services, including Google Cloud Platform and Google Workspace. Google Cloud Platform provides access to solutions such as artificial intelligence (AI) offerings, including its AI infrastructure, Vertex AI platform, and Gemini for Google Cloud; cybersecurity, and data and analytics. Google Workspace includes cloud-based communication and collaboration tools for enterprises, such as Calendar, Gmail, Docs, Drive, and Meet.
About the author
Emily J. Thompson
Emily J. Thompson, a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) with 12 years in investment research, graduated with honors from the Wharton School. Specializing in industrial and technology stocks, she provides in-depth analysis for Intellectia’s earnings and market brief reports.
