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Alphabet Is Only Up 3% This Year: Will Today's Earnings Report Make or Break GOOGL Stock?

Alphabet is up 3% year to date at $324.33 ahead of its Q3 2026 earnings, trailing Microsoft (up 10%) and Meta (down 7%). The stock has slipped as investors weigh heavy AI spending: Q2 capital expenditures reached $44.92 billion, free cash flow turned negative at $5.86 billion, and long-term debt rose from $46.5 billion to $98.2 billion while buybacks were suspended. Q2 Google Search revenue grew 17% and Google Cloud jumped 82% to $24.77 billion, but investors want proof that spending converts into revenue, and rival AI assistants such as Meta's new Muse agent could erode search. Alphabet stock rose 10% after Q1 and fell 7% after Q2, even though both 2026 reports beat estimates.

Summary written by Upside AI from the original article. Read the source for full details.

Original headline: Alphabet Is Only Up 3% This Year: Will Today’s Earnings Report Make or Break GOOGL Stock?

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GOOGL

• Neutral

Alphabet Inc. (Class A)

Relevance: high

MarketUS stocks
SectorCommunication Services
IndustryInteractive Media & Services
Market cap$4.0T
Close on 10/27/2026320.57
Change that session+1.19%
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