Why it matters
- Alphabet said Wednesday, Oct. 28, that third-quarter revenue rose 25% to $127.58 billion and Google Cloud revenue rose 103% to $30.71 billion. Diluted EPS fell to $2.12 from $2.87 a year earlier.
- Analysts had expected EPS of $3.01 on revenue of $127.93 billion, and cloud revenue of $29.1 billion, Yahoo Finance reported. Free cash flow was negative $9.07 billion as capital spending more than doubled to $51.36 billion.
- Class A shares traded at $296.53 at 4:56 p.m. ET, down 8.7% from the regular-session close of $324.89, according to Yahoo Finance data.
Alphabet shares fell about 9% in after-hours trading Wednesday, Oct. 28, after the Google parent reported third-quarter earnings and revenue below Wall Street forecasts and negative free cash flow, even as cloud revenue doubled. Class A shares traded at $296.53 at 4:56 p.m. ET, down 8.7% from their regular-session close of $324.89, according to Yahoo Finance data.
The stock had gained 1.3% during the regular session. Class C shares were down a similar 8.7%, at $293.80, from a $321.89 close. Alphabet's conference call began at 4:30 p.m. ET, and after-hours prices can change before Thursday's open.
Why did Alphabet stock fall after earnings?
Profit and sales came in short of forecasts. Alphabet earned $2.12 a share on revenue of $127.58 billion, the company said in its earnings release. Analysts had expected EPS of $3.01 on revenue of $127.93 billion, Yahoo Finance reported. Advertising revenue of $82.01 billion also trailed the $83.5 billion analysts expected, according to Yahoo Finance.
Free cash flow was negative $9.07 billion. Operating cash flow of $42.29 billion did not cover $51.36 billion of purchases of property and equipment, up 114% from $23.95 billion a year earlier, the release shows.
Net income fell 25% to $26.17 billion. Other income swung to an $8.22 billion loss, from a $12.76 billion gain a year earlier, mainly because of an $8.66 billion net loss on equity securities.
Alphabet third-quarter 2026 results at a glance
| Measure | Q3 2026 | Q3 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $127.58 billion | $102.35 billion | +25% |
| Google Search & other | $63.35 billion | $56.57 billion | +12% |
| YouTube ads | $11.21 billion | $10.26 billion | +9% |
| Google Cloud revenue | $30.71 billion | $15.16 billion | +103% |
| Google Cloud operating income | $11.12 billion | $3.59 billion | +209% |
| Operating income | $40.58 billion | $31.23 billion | +30% |
| Diluted EPS | $2.12 | $2.87 | -26% |
| Free cash flow | -$9.07 billion | $24.46 billion | n/a |
Source: Alphabet third-quarter 2026 earnings release (Exhibit 99.1 to Form 8-K).
How fast is Google Cloud growing?
Google Cloud revenue more than doubled, rising 103% to $30.71 billion. That beat the $29.1 billion analysts had projected, according to Yahoo Finance. Alphabet said growth was led by Google Cloud Platform demand for enterprise AI infrastructure and AI solutions, and that sales of its TPU chip systems were "a meaningful contributor."
"Google Cloud revenues grew 103%, powered by huge demand for our AI infrastructure and AI solutions," Chief Executive Sundar Pichai said in the release. He said the Gemini app has reached one billion users.
Alphabet also raised money to fund its build-out. In the quarter it sold $12.4 billion of Class A and Class C stock through an at-the-market program and issued $28.7 billion of senior notes, the release said. The board declared a quarterly dividend of $0.22 a share, payable Dec. 14.
For more AI-spending earnings, see Meta's third-quarter results and SK hynix's record profit. Follow more earnings coverage in our companies section and markets coverage.
Correction, Oct. 29, 2026: The table gave the year-earlier free cash flow as $24.55 billion, which is the fourth-quarter 2025 figure. Third-quarter 2025 free cash flow was $24.46 billion: $48.41 billion of operating cash flow minus $23.95 billion of capital expenditures, per Alphabet's release.
Sources
- Alphabet, Alphabet Announces Third Quarter 2026 Results (Exhibit 99.1 to Form 8-K, Oct. 28, 2026)
- Yahoo Finance, Daniel Howley, Google stock plunges as Q3 sales fall short of expectations (Oct. 28, 2026)
- Yahoo Finance, chart data for Alphabet Class A (GOOGL), after hours, Alphabet Class C (GOOG), after hours and GOOGL daily closes
