Alphabet, Amazon, Meta Platforms, and Microsoft: One of These Stocks Looks Like It Has the Least Upside Over the Next 12 Months, but There’s a Catch | The Motley Fool

The heavy spending required to stay competitive in the artificial intelligence (AI) race hasn’t done any favors for the stock prices of Alphabet, Amazon, Meta Platforms, and Microsoft (MSFT -2.26%) in 2026. Of the four hyperscalers, only Amazon is outperforming the S&P 500 year to date.

That said, analysts have more favorable outlooks for those stocks over the next 12 months. Microsoft, however, appears to have the least upside potential of the group, but there’s a caveat to those forecasts.

The stocks with the most and least upside potential

Among these four tech giants, Meta has the most favorable outlook, according to analysts. Among the 70 analysts covering the company tracked by CNN, the median one-year price target is $750. That would amount to a 26.6% gain from Meta’s Aug. 7 closing price of $592.10.

For Alphabet, the median price target for Class C shares is $426.50, 20.6% higher than the Aug. 7 closing price of $353.47, while Amazon shares…