Alphabet Loses About $500 Billion in a Day, the Second-Biggest Single-Day Market Value Drop on Record, as Investors Balk at AI Spending
Fox Business says Google's parent fell 12.64% after third-quarter revenue of $127.6 billion missed expectations. Cloud revenue more than doubled, but capital spending plans of up to $205 billion this year worried investors.
One of the biggest companies in the world had one of the worst days any stock has ever had, Fox Business reports.
The drop. Alphabet's Class A shares closed Thursday at $283.82, down 12.64%, according to The Wall Street Journal as cited by Fox. That erased about $499.8 billion in market value. Fox says it is the second-largest single-day loss in stock market history, behind Nvidia's roughly $589 billion in January 2025 and ahead of Alphabet's own record of about $275 billion in July, as reported by Forbes.
The trigger. Alphabet reported third-quarter results Wednesday. Revenue was $127.6 billion, up 25% from a year earlier but below Wall Street's expectations. Google Search revenue grew 12%, down from 17% growth the quarter before, which fed worries about how AI tools are changing search.
The spending. The company spent about $51.4 billion on capital expenditures in the quarter, mostly on data centers and computing. It expects $195 billion to $205 billion this year, with a significant increase projected for 2027.
The bright spot. Google Cloud revenue more than doubled to $30.7 billion, up 103% and above analysts' $29.2 billion forecast. Chief Financial Officer Anat Ashkenazi warned that cloud margins could face near-term pressure because the company is renting outside computing capacity to meet demand.
The bigger picture. Fox says the sell-off shows a growing problem for big tech: investors want proof that billions in AI infrastructure will pay off.
Note for readers: the figures come from Fox Business, The Wall Street Journal and Forbes as cited by Fox. We have not checked them against Alphabet's filing.