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Alphabet Shares Plunge After $9.07B Negative Free Cash Flow

By Drooid · Oct 30, 2026 · How we work

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Summary

Alphabet shares fell more than 12% after reporting negative free cash flow.
Alphabet posted $9.07 billion negative free cash flow, missing analysts’ break-even expectations.
Alphabet recorded $51.4 billion capital expenditures in the third quarter.
Alphabet disclosed over $1 trillion in multiyear AI data-center and energy infrastructure spending commitments.
Analysts warned unchecked AI outlays could strain cash generation for firms lacking Microsoft’s discipline.

History

After IBM posted a $8.1 billion loss in 1993—the largest U.S. corporate loss at the time—the company shifted from hardware to services and later revived AI with its Watson system, winning Jeopardy! in 2011 and launching a $240 million MIT-IBM Watson AI Lab in 2017. Analysts warn that today’s tech giants face similar AI cash-flow pressures.

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After IBM posted a $8.1 billion loss in 1993—the largest U.S. corporate loss at the time—the company shifted from hardware to services and later revived AI with its Watson system, winning Jeopardy! in 2011 and launching a $240 million MIT-IBM Watson AI Lab in 2017. Analysts warn that today’s tech giants face similar AI cash-flow pressures.

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