Alphabet plans $205B capex as Google free cash flow drops
Google has hit a financial milestone, but not the good kind: its free cash flow turned negative this quarter, dropping $5.9 billion as the company pours money into artificial intelligence projects.
Parent company Alphabet is now planning to spend up to $205 billion on capital expenses in 2026 (way up from earlier estimates), all in a bid to stay ahead in the AI race.
Google Cloud up 82% Gemini struggles
While Google Cloud pulled off an impressive 82% revenue jump this quarter, not everything is smooth sailing: newer AI models like Gemini 3.6 Flash are trailing behind rivals, and CEO Sundar Pichai admitted there have been delays with Gemini 3.5 Pro.
Meanwhile, even with a World Cup boost, Google Search sales didn't meet expectations, making investors nervous about whether all this heavy spending on AI will actually pay off or just fuel talk of an "AI bubble."