Business · 2026-10-29 · Afternoon briefing

Alphabet shares suffer record drop on AI and cash flow concerns

Shares in Alphabet plummeted 13% on Thursday, on track for the company's largest-ever post-earnings fall. The sell-off followed a third-quarter report revealing a negative free cash flow of $9.07 billion, far exceeding the negative $2.70 billion analysts had forecast. The company's core search advertising revenue also disappointed, missing expectations despite growing 12% to $63.35 billion for the quarter.

The market reaction reflects concerns about Google's footing in the artificial intelligence race. Its own AI chatbot, Gemini, is seen as failing to keep pace with rivals like OpenAI's ChatGPT. An executive attributed some of the search weakness to "lower monetization" from its AI features. By contrast, shares in rival Microsoft were stable, as it posted a positive free cash flow of $18.63 billion.

Summary written by Cup of News with AI from the sources below. Check the originals for the full story.

Read the sources

• Alphabet falls 10% in premarket, putting it on course for its biggest ever post-earnings drop
• Alphabet Shares Fall After Revenue Miss, Cash Burn Worsens
• Microsoft and Alphabet Earnings Put Focus on AI Cash Flow Drain
• Why Are Alphabet Shares Falling More Than 10% Despite Growth in Google Cloud?
• Alphabet shares plunge over 10% as Google's AI search struggles to make money

More stories in this edition

1. Russian drone strike on Ukraine station kills at least 14
2. China's Communist Party expels record 33 members in purge
3. ECB holds interest rate at 2.5% despite inflation surge
4. Brain rewiring tools successfully alter animal behaviour
5. Canada plugs into EU's €8.2bn supercomputer grid
6. Former minister Fátima Báñez among 69 dead in Spain train crash
7. Komatsu raises profit forecast on strong Americas demand
8. Indonesian driver commission cap cuts GoTo's profit by a quarter
9. Dozens stranded in Guinea-Bissau after trafficking ring dismantled

Read the whole edition