Alphabet’s free cash flow falls 73% as AI spending outpaces cash generation
Trailing 12-month free cash flow dropped to $19.75 billion as capital spending on AI infrastructure swallowed a record revenue quarter
Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL) price
Full chart and statsLoading chart…
- Last close
- $321
- Close-to-close change
- +1.2%
- Market cap
- $3.9T (shares as of 2026-06-30)
- P/E (trailing)
- 16.1 (EPS to 2026-06-30)
- Annual revenue
- $402.8B USD (FY ended 2025-12-31) 10-K
- Annual revenue growth
- +15.1% (FY ended 2025-12-31 vs FY ended 2024-12-31) 10-K
- Annual net income
- 132,170,000,000 USD (FY ended 2025-12-31, attributable to the company) 10-K
- Annual operating margin
- 32.0% (FY ended 2025-12-31)
- Forward P/E
- Unavailable: no dated forecast source
Gloria daily close for session Oct 27, 2026. Market cap and trailing P/E use this close with the SEC share total and trailing diluted earnings, each dated next to its figure. Annual revenue, revenue growth, net income and margin show their own fiscal period and link the 10-K. Current context may postdate this article.
Alphabet Inc. and its peers
| Company | Price | Market cap | P/E (trailing) | Forward P/E | Annual revenue (USD) | Annual revenue growth | Annual net income (USD) | Operating margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
$321 | $3.9T | 16.1 | Unavailable | $402.8BFY ended 2025-12-31 · 10-K | +15.1%FY ended 2025-12-31 vs 2024-12-31 · 10-K | 132,170,000,000FY ended 2025-12-31, attributable to the company · 10-K | 32.0%FY ended 2025-12-31 |
|
|
$317 | $3.9T | 15.9 | Unavailable | $402.8BFY ended 2025-12-31 · 10-K | +15.1%FY ended 2025-12-31 vs 2024-12-31 · 10-K | 132,170,000,000FY ended 2025-12-31, attributable to the company · 10-K | 32.0%FY ended 2025-12-31 |
|
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$620 | $1.6T | 21.2 | Unavailable | $201.0BFY ended 2025-12-31 · 10-K | +22.2%FY ended 2025-12-31 vs 2024-12-31 · 10-K | 60,458,000,000FY ended 2025-12-31, attributable to the company · 10-K | 41.4%FY ended 2025-12-31 |
|
|
$263 | $88.1B | 20.2 | Unavailable | $5.5BFY ended 2025-12-31 · 10-K | +70.0%FY ended 2025-12-31 vs 2024-12-31 · 10-K | 3,333,751,000FY ended 2025-12-31, attributable to the company · 10-K | 75.8%FY ended 2025-12-31 |
Missing figures stay unavailable. Forward P/E requires a dated source. Annual revenue, revenue growth, net income and margin come from each company's own 10-K, in US dollars, and each row shows that fiscal year. Revenue growth compares the fiscal year with the prior year stated in the same 10-K. Net income is the full year amount attributable to the company, or available to common stockholders where the filing states only that, or consolidated net income. Each row names its basis. Trailing P/E reads "Not meaningful" when the dated trailing diluted EPS is a loss or zero. An operating margin appears only when the filing states both the operating income and the revenue for the same year.
Sources: SEC filings, Gloria daily closes and CoinGecko. Oldest record refresh: Oct 27, 2026, 9:41 PM EDT. Refresh is not a price or filing date. Each row shows its price date and its annual fiscal period. Peers use industry code and company size, or editorial selection. Market cap multiplies that row price by the company share total the latest SEC filing states for every share class together. Trailing P/E divides it by trailing diluted earnings from SEC filings. Rolled earnings per share are approximate because share counts can change between periods. Both appear only when the SEC data carries its date, so they are estimates at one price date, not synchronized filing valuations. Not investment advice.
Token vs underlying stock
Current comparison for GOOGL. Historical observations may postdate this article.
GOOGLx token unit vs GOOGL share · USD
-15.0% over displayed period
● GOOGLx token┄ GOOGL stock: $320.58
Source: CoinGecko + Gloria · Retrieved Oct 28, 21:15 UTC · Delayed
Methodology and data
Split-adjusted regular-session stock closes from the existing Gloria shared history, paired only with an observed token price within 45 minutes of 16:00 New York time. Up to 60 matched sessions. No interpolation or missing-date fill. Weekends and known early closes are omitted. Token units are not adjusted for issuer multipliers or dividend treatment. This compares quoted prices, not fair value, executable premiums or arbitrage returns. Solid line: token. Dashed line: stock. Exact quote times and values appear below. Historical observations. Retrieval refers to the token source. Token quote times use UTC. The fixed cohort shows its oldest member fetch.
| Date (UTC) | Token (USD) | Stock close (USD) | Token quote (UTC) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-08-04 | 378.19 | 377.65 | 2026-08-04 20:00 |
| 2026-08-05 | 363.03 | 362.43 | 2026-08-05 20:00 |
| 2026-08-06 | 358.14 | 357.75 | 2026-08-06 20:00 |
| 2026-08-07 | 355.20 | 354.30 | 2026-08-07 20:00 |
| 2026-08-10 | 357.76 | 357.52 | 2026-08-10 20:00 |
| 2026-08-11 | 344.26 | 343.80 | 2026-08-11 20:00 |
| 2026-08-12 | 344.44 | 343.54 | 2026-08-12 20:00 |
| 2026-08-13 | 347.06 | 346.36 | 2026-08-13 20:00 |
| 2026-08-14 | 346.47 | 345.90 | 2026-08-14 20:00 |
| 2026-08-17 | 344.71 | 344.00 | 2026-08-17 20:00 |
| 2026-08-18 | 344.71 | 344.20 | 2026-08-18 20:00 |
| 2026-08-19 | 345.42 | 344.72 | 2026-08-19 20:00 |
| 2026-08-20 | 341.21 | 340.67 | 2026-08-20 20:00 |
| 2026-08-21 | 345.60 | 344.82 | 2026-08-21 20:00 |
| 2026-08-24 | 348.94 | 348.06 | 2026-08-24 20:00 |
| 2026-08-25 | 347.59 | 346.96 | 2026-08-25 20:00 |
| 2026-08-26 | 342.69 | 342.00 | 2026-08-26 20:00 |
| 2026-08-27 | 341.18 | 340.65 | 2026-08-27 20:00 |
| 2026-08-28 | 347.10 | 346.59 | 2026-08-28 20:00 |
| 2026-08-31 | 339.89 | 339.35 | 2026-08-31 20:00 |
| 2026-09-01 | 335.42 | 335.02 | 2026-09-01 20:00 |
| 2026-09-02 | 337.78 | 337.12 | 2026-09-02 20:00 |
| 2026-09-03 | 342.96 | 342.48 | 2026-09-03 20:00 |
| 2026-09-04 | 339.38 | 338.46 | 2026-09-04 20:00 |
| 2026-09-08 | 338.99 | 338.36 | 2026-09-08 20:00 |
| 2026-09-09 | 331.31 | 330.65 | 2026-09-09 20:00 |
| 2026-09-10 | 333.00 | 332.60 | 2026-09-10 20:00 |
| 2026-09-11 | 339.44 | 338.50 | 2026-09-11 20:00 |
| 2026-09-14 | 350.02 | 349.39 | 2026-09-14 20:00 |
| 2026-09-15 | 345.54 | 344.98 | 2026-09-15 20:00 |
| 2026-09-16 | 343.72 | 342.87 | 2026-09-16 20:00 |
| 2026-09-17 | 348.19 | 347.33 | 2026-09-17 20:00 |
| 2026-09-18 | 349.96 | 349.54 | 2026-09-18 20:00 |
| 2026-09-21 | 355.68 | 354.97 | 2026-09-21 20:00 |
| 2026-09-22 | 351.84 | 351.16 | 2026-09-22 20:00 |
| 2026-09-23 | 338.83 | 337.83 | 2026-09-23 20:00 |
| 2026-09-24 | 343.15 | 342.36 | 2026-09-24 20:00 |
| 2026-09-25 | 344.56 | 343.92 | 2026-09-25 20:00 |
| 2026-09-28 | 343.44 | 342.75 | 2026-09-28 20:00 |
| 2026-09-29 | 341.65 | 340.92 | 2026-09-29 20:00 |
| 2026-09-30 | 344.99 | 344.08 | 2026-09-30 20:00 |
| 2026-10-01 | 339.14 | 338.24 | 2026-10-01 20:00 |
| 2026-10-02 | 344.17 | 343.50 | 2026-10-02 20:00 |
| 2026-10-05 | 347.05 | 346.47 | 2026-10-05 20:00 |
| 2026-10-06 | 348.53 | 347.68 | 2026-10-06 20:00 |
| 2026-10-07 | 351.27 | 350.50 | 2026-10-07 20:00 |
| 2026-10-08 | 348.51 | 348.29 | 2026-10-08 20:00 |
| 2026-10-09 | 352.71 | 351.66 | 2026-10-09 20:00 |
| 2026-10-12 | 353.57 | 352.72 | 2026-10-12 20:00 |
| 2026-10-13 | 354.45 | 353.78 | 2026-10-13 20:00 |
| 2026-10-14 | 347.97 | 347.64 | 2026-10-14 20:00 |
| 2026-10-15 | 350.19 | 349.22 | 2026-10-15 20:00 |
| 2026-10-16 | 341.50 | 340.59 | 2026-10-16 20:00 |
| 2026-10-19 | 345.25 | 344.18 | 2026-10-19 20:00 |
| 2026-10-20 | 340.61 | 340.28 | 2026-10-20 20:00 |
| 2026-10-21 | 335.85 | 334.76 | 2026-10-21 20:00 |
| 2026-10-22 | 324.33 | 324.22 | 2026-10-22 20:00 |
| 2026-10-23 | 321.30 | 320.21 | 2026-10-23 20:00 |
| 2026-10-26 | 317.69 | 316.80 | 2026-10-26 20:00 |
| 2026-10-27 | 321.43 | 320.58 | 2026-10-27 20:00 |
Stock history: Gloria · Retrieved Oct 28, 00:31 UTC. Token history: CoinGecko GOOGLx.
Quoted token and share units can have different rights, multipliers and dividend treatment. This is not an executable premium or arbitrage signal.
Alphabet just posted one of the strongest revenue quarters in corporate history. Its cash pile still went the other way.
The Google parent’s trailing 12-month free cash flow fell 73% year over year to $19.75 billion for the period ended September 30, 2026. The culprit is the company’s spending spree on AI infrastructure, which now costs more each quarter than its core business brings in.
Investors noticed. Shares slid more than 6% in after-hours trading after the October 28 report, as attention moved from the top line to the cash burn underneath it.
The numbers behind the drop
Alphabet reported third-quarter 2026 revenue of $127.6 billion, up 25% from a year earlier.
Google Cloud was the standout. The division brought in $30.71 billion in revenue, a 103% jump year over year, on the back of demand for AI infrastructure and services.
Cloud now accounts for nearly a quarter of Alphabet’s total quarterly revenue.
Then comes the cash flow statement, where the mood shifts. Alphabet generated $42.3 billion in operating cash flow during the quarter.
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But the company spent $51.4 billion on property and equipment over the same three months. Subtract one from the other and quarterly free cash flow lands at negative $9.07 billion.
That quarterly shortfall is what dragged the trailing 12-month figure down so sharply.
Spending more, and planning to spend even more
Alphabet raised its full-year 2026 capital expenditure guidance to $195–205 billion.
CEO Sundar Pichai highlighted a projected annual revenue run rate of half a trillion dollars, alongside strong growth in AI-driven search queries and cloud services.
What this means for investors and the AI race
Alphabet’s AI investments are clearly producing revenue, with Cloud’s 103% growth as the strongest evidence. The open question is whether that revenue eventually produces enough cash to justify spending of this size.
Several signals are worth tracking. The first is whether operating cash flow begins catching up with capex, which would push quarterly free cash flow back into positive territory. The second is whether Alphabet lands inside, above or below its raised $195–205 billion guidance by year end.
The third is Cloud’s trajectory. If that division keeps growing at anything close to its current pace, it offers the clearest path for the AI buildout to pay for itself.
There is also a wider read-through for the tech sector. Alphabet is far from the only company pouring capital into AI infrastructure. A negative cash flow quarter from one of the industry’s most profitable firms could sharpen scrutiny of cash burn across other companies making similar bets.
Disclosure: This article was edited by Diego Almada Lopez. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.
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