Alphabet shares fell 12.64% on Thursday after third-quarter 2026 results, wiping out $482 billion in market value amid doubts over whether AI spending will pay off. Search and other advertising revenue rose 12% to $63.35 billion, slowing from about 17% in the prior quarter and missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 2.53%, which Alphabet partly linked to lower monetization of AI Mode queries. Capital expenditure jumped 114% to $51.36 billion, pushing free cash flow to negative $9.07 billion, and Alphabet maintained its 2026 capex guidance of $195–$205 billion while expecting spending to rise significantly in 2027. Long-term debt rose to $125.1 billion from $46.5 billion at the end of 2025, and maximum contractual commitments exceed $1 trillion. Google Cloud revenue rose 103% to $30.71 billion and its backlog reached $561 billion, though investors remain concerned about the profitability of that growth.
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Related tickers and likely impact
GOOGL
▼ Likely negativeAlphabet Inc. (Class A)
Relevance: high
| Market | US stocks |
|---|---|
| Sector | Communication Services |
| Industry | Interactive Media & Services |
| Market cap | $4.0T |
| Close on 10/29/2026 | 283.82 |
| Change that session | -12.64% |
Impact is scored by AI from the headline and may be wrong. It is not investment advice.
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