Stock

# Alphabet (GOOGL)

Google Cloud revenue doubled in Q3, while $51.4 billion of capital spending turned quarterly free cash flow negative and Alphabet raised money by issuing new stock.

Updated Oct 29, 2026

Information and analysis only, not a recommendation to buy, sell or hold any security. The author may own securities discussed.

Researched and drafted with AI agents. Every figure is taken from a source cited on the page.

Analysis and information

## What it does

Alphabet owns Google Search, YouTube, Android and Google Cloud. Most of its revenue comes from Google Services, mainly advertising. Google Cloud, which rents out computing and AI services, is its fastest-growing unit.

## Role in the theme

In **Platforms and software**, Alphabet builds the Gemini AI models, rents AI computing to others through Google Cloud, and spends heavily on data centers.

## Latest

- **2026-10-28:** Q3 revenue rose 25% to $127.6 billion. Search and other revenue rose 12% to $63.4 billion.
- **2026-10-28:** Google Cloud revenue rose 103% to $30.7 billion, with operating income of $11.1 billion. The CFO put the Cloud backlog at $561 billion.
- **2026-10-28:** Capital spending was $51.4 billion and free cash flow was negative $9.1 billion for the quarter. The 2026 capital spending range of $195-205 billion is unchanged, and the CFO expects spending to increase significantly in 2027.
- **2026-10-28:** Alphabet started using third-party compute capacity at the end of Q3. The CFO expects near-term margin headwinds as it uses this capacity.
- **2026-10-28:** Alphabet made no share repurchases in Q3. It issued Class A and Class C stock under its at-the-market program for net proceeds of $4.3 billion and $8.1 billion. $27.6 billion remained available under the program at 2026-09-30.
- **2026-10-28:** Diluted earnings per share were $2.12. Fortune reported an $8.7 billion paper loss on equity investments. The shares fell more than 11% after hours.

## What to watch

- More detail on 2027 capital spending, which Fortune reports the CFO said will come in the fourth quarter.
- Further stock issuance under the at-the-market program.
- Margins as third-party capacity use ramps in Q4.
- Next report: Q4 2026 results, date not confirmed.

## Covered in

- Theme: [Platforms and software](/research/themes/platforms-software)

## Sources

Primary means the publisher of the data or the filing; secondary means press or an aggregator.
- [Alphabet Q3 2026 results (8-K exhibit 99.1)](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/0001652044/000165204426000080/googexhibit991q32026.htm)Primary 2026-10-28
- [Alphabet Q3 2026 earnings call transcript](https://www.fool.com/earnings/call-transcripts/2026/10/29/alphabet-googl-q3-2026-earnings-call-transcript/)Secondary 2026-10-29
- [Fortune: Alphabet's Google Cloud revenue doubles as cash flow stays deep red](https://fortune.com/2026/10/28/alphabet-google-stock-drops-cloud-revenue-doubles-free-cash-flow-negative/)Secondary 2026-10-28
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