Citi says Gemini 4 launch removes “key overhang” from Google shares

Citi analyst Ronald Josey heralds Alphabet's new Gemini 4 Argon model as a significant turning point for Google's stock. With the launch after the market close, the analyst believes the advanced capabilities of Gemini 4 Argon, including coding, knowledge work, cybersecurity, and competitive pricing, will eliminate a key barrier to investor confidence in GOOGL shares.

This makes Alphabet the primary publicly traded beneficiary of the Gemini 4 Argon launch, as the company's various revenue streams are now tied to this refreshed AI product cycle. The model outperformed competitors like GPT6-Astra from OpenAI and Anthropic's Claude Fable 5.1 and Claude Opus 5.5 in 14 out of 19 benchmarks tested by Citi.

However, there is a near-term concern: while Argon is now available within Google's Fairwind Program, it may face capacity limitations as demand increases. The rapid launch of Gemini 4 Argon also demonstrates Alphabet's commitment to developing state-of-the-art foundation models, signaling potentially higher product velocity and model cadence in the future.

This development could provide a much-needed boost to Google's product cycle, including Google Cloud, Workspace, Search, and developer tools. For investors, GOOGL is a prime example of the competitive AI model race, as Alphabet is simultaneously involved in model development, cloud infrastructure, and consumer-facing AI products across Search and Workspace.

With a $447 price target, this implies a potential upside of nearly 30% from the current trading levels.