Alphabet Shares Plunge on Earnings Miss

Alphabet shares saw a sharp decline in after-hours trading following the release of its third-quarter earnings, which failed to meet Wall Street expectations. The technology conglomerate reported adjusted earnings per share of $2.67, well below the anticipated $3.02, and net income available to common shareholders dropped 25% to $26.17 billion. Alphabet's total revenue for the quarter was reported at $127.6 billion, narrowly missing analyst estimates and reflecting weaker-than-expected performance in its core advertising business, which generated $82 billion, short of the forecasted $83.4 billion. The company attributed much of its shortfall to a deceleration in search advertising growth and increased expenditure on artificial intelligence, with a significant operating income loss driven by investment in AI and cloud capacity. However, Google Cloud saw revenue more than double to $30.7 billion, demonstrating robust growth, though this was insufficient to offset investor concerns over overall profitability and rising costs. The disappointing results led to share declines of up to 10% in post-market trading, as reported by Reuters and other financial media outlets.