Alphabet Heads Into Q3 Print With Negative Free Cash Flow and Capex at Record Highs
GOOG sits 20% above its 52-week low of $264.94.
Summary
Alphabet reports Q3 this week with consensus around $3.00 EPS and roughly $128B in revenue, but the number traders are focused on is cash. Last quarter operating cash flow of $39.07B against $44.92B of capex left free cash flow at about negative $5.86B — the first negative FCF since the 2004 IPO — and the company is set for a second straight quarter of cash burn. The 2026 capex plan already sits at $195B–$205B, raised in August from $180B–$190B, so the spending curve is the story rather than the top line. The stock is trading near $317, below its 200-day moving average, with the widest gap to that line in 17 months going into the print. Cloud TPU demand tied to contracts including Anthropic is real, but most of that TPU revenue is expected in 2027, not 2026 — so it does not offset near-term outflows.
At the time of this announcement, GOOG was trading at $319.05 on NASDAQ in the Technology sector, with a market capitalization of approximately $3.9T. The 52-week trading range was $264.94 to $404.47. This news item was assessed with negative market sentiment and an importance score of 7 out of 10. Source: Wiseek News.