According to CNBC, Jim Cramer’s Charitable Trust is putting Alphabet back into its “Bullpen” list of stocks to watch. This reverses an exit from the Google parent back in March, which was driven by concerns over the slow pace of its Gemini AI versus OpenAI’s ChatGPT and fears from a Justice Department antitrust case. Since then, Google launched Gemini 3, which is now considered a new standard for large language models and runs on custom Google-Broadcom chips. A court also ruled in Alphabet’s favor, allowing it to keep Chrome and maintain its lucrative search deal with Apple. Furthermore, with OpenAI’s valuation approaching $1 trillion amid massive spending commitments, the argument is that Gemini inside Google’s cash-rich business is undervalued.
Cramer’s Change of Heart
Look, admitting you were wrong is tough, especially on financial TV. But here’s the thing: the facts on the ground for Alphabet really have shifted. Back in March, the story was all about AI lag and regulatory doom. Now? Gemini 3 is a legit contender, and that antitrust overhang has cleared, at least for this round. Cramer’s logic is basically that letting one bad sell decision dictate future analysis is a sin. He’s not saying buy it back yet—it’s in the Bullpen, not the active portfolio—but the door is firmly reopened. The market hates uncertainty, and a lot of that has been removed for Google.
The AI and Silicon Double Play
This is where it gets interesting. Gemini 3’s performance is one thing, but the real sleeper might be the custom silicon it runs on, developed with Broadcom. Google isn’t just building AI models; it’s building the efficient, specialized hardware to run them. And now they’re reportedly getting interest from other companies to use those chips. That’s a potential new revenue stream that OpenAI, Microsoft, or even Apple don’t really have in the same way. It turns Google from a pure software and ads player into a potential infrastructure provider for the AI age. That’s a huge narrative shift.
The Apple and OpenAI Factor
So what about Apple’s big AI push with OpenAI? Cramer actually sees that as a potential *positive* for Google. His take is that Google, with its existing search partnership and now a top-tier AI model, could still be a better long-term partner for Siri. It’s a reminder that these “partnerships” in tech are often messy, multi-vendor affairs. And then there’s OpenAI itself. A near-$1 trillion valuation is staggering for a company burning cash at an epic rate to fund data centers and buy Nvidia chips. Compared to that, Gemini sitting inside Google’s profit machine starts to look… stable. Maybe even cheap. It’s a classic “tortoise and the hare” setup, and the market is starting to re-evaluate which one it prefers.
What It Means Going Forward
This move is a signal. It tells us that the early, simple “Microsoft/OpenAI is winning” AI narrative is getting more complex. The game isn’t just about who has the most clever chatbot; it’s about integration, monetization, hardware efficiency, and legal durability. Google, for all its early stumbles, checks a lot of those boxes in a way others don’t. Does this mean Alphabet stock is a sure thing? Of course not. But it does mean the investment thesis isn’t broken. Sometimes the biggest gains come from having the guts to revisit a name you swore off, when the story changes. The rest of the market is probably thinking the same thing.
