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Alphabet shares fall more than 10% after weak results

Published

Alphabet missed forecasts for third-quarter earnings and revenue, and posted negative free cash flow of $9.07 billion. Nasdaq futures fell on Thursday as investors weighed the payoff from heavy AI spending, while Microsoft shares rose.

Alphabet reported adjusted earnings per share of $2.67, against $3.02 expected. Revenue was $127.58 billion, against $128.22 billion expected. Reports said weak search advertising and Google services revenue hurt the result.

Capital spending in the quarter was $51.36 billion. Alphabet kept its 2026 forecast of $195 billion to $205 billion and said it expects a significant increase in 2027. Alphabet shares fell 10.5% in premarket trading on Thursday.

Microsoft shares rose 3.5% in premarket trading after its cloud business grew faster. Azure grew 48%, and overall revenue rose 19% to $92.28 billion. Deutsche Bank analysts said Microsoft's returns did not lift the gloomy mood in tech.

Fortinet fell 25.4% and ServiceNow fell 19% after their results. Jeremy Saltzberg of Check Capital Management said: "Investors are starting to scrutinize monetization timelines versus the capital expenditure burn rates."

Key facts

Who
Google (company whose earnings were released overnight); Microsoft (company whose earnings were released overnight); Kevin Warsh (Fed Chair); Alphabet (parent company of Google, reported third-quarter results)
What
A market news roundup says US tech stocks were expected to decline after Google and Microsoft earnings released overnight raised uncertainty about AI infrastructure spending.
When
29 October 2026
Where
United States
Status
Reported

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