The best indicator for Alphabet (GOOGL)
We backtested 20 indicators across daily, weekly and hourly charts on real Alphabet (GOOGL) history. Here's what actually worked — risk-adjusted, out-of-sample, with costs.
RSI Trend (>50)
On the daily chart, this is the strongest risk-adjusted edge we found for Alphabet (GOOGL) over ~21.8 years — trailing buy-and-hold by 7.6% CAGR.
The winner on each chart
Every indicator, ranked
Ranked by Sharpe (risk-adjusted return). Hypothetical, fees included.
| # | Indicator | TF | CAGR | Sharpe | Max DD | Win | Trades | vs B&H |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | RSI Trend (>50) ✓ | Daily | 18.2% | 0.87 | -44.4% | 39.9% | 263 | -7.6% |
| 2 | Donchian Midline ✓ | Daily | 15.0% | 0.75 | -47.6% | 42.1% | 280 | -10.8% |
| 3 | RSI Trend (>50) ✓ | Weekly | 15.9% | 0.75 | -35.2% | 61.8% | 55 | -9.3% |
| 4 | MACD ✓ | Weekly | 13.7% | 0.74 | -28.3% | 52.2% | 46 | -11.5% |
| 5 | Rate of Change ✓ | Daily | 14.3% | 0.73 | -50.1% | 43.2% | 331 | -11.5% |
| 6 | Rate of Change ✓ | Weekly | 14.1% | 0.71 | -35.8% | 50.7% | 69 | -11.1% |
| 7 | EMA 20/50 Cross ✓ | Daily | 13.8% | 0.7 | -33.6% | 52.2% | 46 | -12.0% |
| 8 | MACD ✓ | Daily | 12.9% | 0.67 | -44.1% | 44.3% | 221 | -12.9% |
| 9 | EMA 20/50 Cross ✓ | 1-Hour | 28.7% | 1.13 | -21.8% | 50.0% | 44 | -20.4% |
| 10 | SMA 50/200 Cross ✓ | Daily | 14.1% | 0.69 | -44.6% | 78.6% | 14 | -11.7% |
| 11 | SMA 50/200 Cross ✓ | 1-Hour | 33.2% | 1.25 | -23.5% | 61.5% | 13 | -15.9% |
| 12 | EMA-10 Trend ✓ | Daily | 11.4% | 0.61 | -56.1% | 44.3% | 472 | -14.4% |
| 13 | Donchian Midline ✓ | Weekly | 11.1% | 0.6 | -42.5% | 61.8% | 55 | -14.1% |
| 14 | EMA-10 Trend ✓ | Weekly | 11.1% | 0.59 | -47.4% | 59.4% | 101 | -14.1% |
✓ = held up out-of-sample. Hypothetical, costs included. See methodology.
For Alphabet (GOOGL), RSI Trend (>50) on the daily timeframe gave the best balance of return and risk in our test. It still trailed buy-and-hold on raw return — but remember: this is a hypothetical backtest of a standard rule, not a recommendation. Markets change. See the methodology and disclaimer.
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