Alphabet and Microsoft both reported quarterly results, with cloud growth strong at both, but the market reacted differently: Microsoft shares rose after hours while Alphabet fell. Microsoft's revenue rose 19% to $92.3 billion, and adjusted EPS of $4.89 topped the roughly $4.72 Wall Street expected; Azure grew 48% to $33.17 billion. Alphabet's revenue rose 25% to $127.6 billion, but GAAP EPS fell from $2.87 to $2.12, partly due to an $8.7 billion net loss on equity securities. The article's main concern is Alphabet's cash: capex of $51.4 billion left free cash flow at negative $9.1 billion, while Microsoft remained positive at $18.63 billion, though down 27%. Alphabet's long-term debt rose from $46.5 billion to $125.1 billion, and it expects capex to “increase significantly” in 2027; the author questions whether these AI investments will pay off over the long term.
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earningscloud computingAI investmentMSFTGOOGL
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Related tickers and likely impact
GOOGL
• NeutralAlphabet Inc. (Class A)
Relevance: medium
| Market | US stocks |
|---|---|
| Sector | Communication Services |
| Industry | Interactive Media & Services |
| Market cap | $4.0T |
| Close on 10/28/2026 | 325.61 |
| Change that session | +1.57% |
MSFT
• NeutralMicrosoft
Relevance: medium
| Market | US stocks |
|---|---|
| Sector | Information Technology |
| Industry | Systems Software |
| Market cap | $3.9T |
| Close on 10/28/2026 | 530.83 |
| Change that session | -0.09% |
NVDA
• NeutralNvidia
Relevance: low
| Market | US stocks |
|---|---|
| Sector | Information Technology |
| Industry | Semiconductors |
| Market cap | $5.1T |
| Close on 10/28/2026 | 215.39 |
| Change that session | -1.17% |
Impact is scored by AI from the headline and may be wrong. It is not investment advice.
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