12:09 PM EDT, 10/15/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Alphabet's (GOOG, GOOGL) Q3 results on Oct. 29 are likely to be in line with consensus estimates, with a modest upside to Search forecasts and a slight beat on EPS, BofA Securities said Tuesday in a note.

BofA expects Alphabet to post Q3 revenue of $72.7 billion and GAAP EPS of $1.86, compared with Street estimates at $72.8 billion and $1.85.

"We think expectations are for ~12% search growth and we are at 12.2%," BofA said. "YouTube ( GOOG ) deceleration remains a risk due to Prime Video and Netflix competition, but Cloud and FX moves should help."

The company's average number of job postings in Q3 rose a modest 4% quarter on quarter, which indicates still very measured headcount growth, the note said.

The report also said Al overviews is biggest change in search in 2024 and introduction of ads could open more searches to monetization, pointing to some room for positive AI commentary.

BofA has a buy rating on Alphabet and a $206 price objective.

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