Stories

Thu, 29 Oct 2026

Thu, 29 Oct 2026 Google value plunges by $500bn as AI fears rattle Wall Street

Google spooked investors so badly that its stock hit a six-month low, after it revealed its AI search summaries were affecting ad revenue.

* Google's parent company Alphabet lost over $500 billion in value after its quarterly update, with its stock hitting a six-month low.
* The decline was largely due to the impact of AI summaries on search results affecting ad revenue and Google's increased spending on AI investments.
* Alphabet reported 25% growth in total revenue, but profits fell by 25% and free cash flow turned negative for the second time in its history as a public company.
* The company's heavy investment in AI is expected to continue, with an estimated $9 billion in negative free cash flow.
* Amazon also updated investors this week, revealing that it spent more money than it made in the quarter and had negative cash flow of over $42 billion.
* Microsoft, another major tech company investing heavily in AI, reported lower spending on AI investments but still saw its stock fall slightly due to concerns about the industry's ability to capture value from AI.
* Wall Street is increasingly looking ahead to the future and how companies' big promises around AI will be fulfilled.