Alphabet shares fall after profit miss, ad slowdown and heavy AI spending

Summary

Alphabet, Google's parent company, saw its shares fall in after-hours trading on Wednesday after reporting third-quarter results that missed profit projections. Semafor reported a 7% after-hours drop and said the company increased its AI spending past $50 billion in the quarter. The Guardian reported that net profit slid 25% from a year earlier to $26.2bn, well short of expectations, while revenue rose to $127.6bn, and that shares fell double digits into Thursday trading, erasing about $500bn in market value. The Guardian also cited a slowdown in the company's advertising business alongside continued heavy AI spending. Channel News Asia reported that Alphabet shares dropped 12% after disappointing profits, dragging down US stocks.

Timeline

1. Semafor

   28 Oct 2026, 22:13 UTCSource ↗

   Semafor reports that Alphabet's stock fell 7% in after-hours trading Wednesday after the company missed profit projections and increased its AI spending past $50 billion in the third quarter.

2. The Guardian

   29 Oct 2026, 17:29 UTCSource ↗

   The Guardian reports that Alphabet's net profit slid 25% to $26.2bn, well short of expectations, and that shares fell double digits Wednesday evening into Thursday trading, erasing about $500bn in market value.

3. Channel News Asia

   29 Oct 2026, 17:37 UTCSource ↗

   Channel News Asia reports that Wall Street stocks fell as Alphabet's shares dropped 12% after disappointing profits.