Alphabet Q3 2026 earnings miss triggers >10% stock drop and analyst target cuts
Alphabet reported third‑quarter 2026 results that fell short of Wall Street expectations, posting earnings per share of $2.12 versus the $3.02 consensus and revenue of $127.6 billion. While Google Cloud revenue surged 103% to $30.7 billion, search and YouTube ad revenue slowed, and capital spending rose to $51.4 billion, pushing free cash flow to a negative $9.1 billion. The earnings surprise sent the shares down more than 10% in after‑hours trading and prompted several analysts to lower their price targets.
Why it matters
Scotiabank cut its price target to $375 from $375 and TD Cowen reduced its target to $460 from $485, reflecting concerns over weaker search monetization and higher AI‑related costs. The share‑price decline and lower targets affect investors holding GOOG and funds with large Alphabet exposure.
Key facts
- 1Alphabet posted earnings per share of $2.12, missing the $3.02 consensus estimate. finance.yahoo.com
- 2Consolidated revenue was $127.6 billion for the quarter. finance.yahoo.com
- 3Google Cloud revenue grew 103% year‑over‑year to $30.7 billion. finance.yahoo.com
- 4Capital expenditures reached $51.4 billion, up from $24 billion a year earlier. finance.yahoo.com
- 5Free cash flow turned negative $9.1 billion in the quarter. investing.com
- 6Alphabet raised about $41.4 billion in gross proceeds, including $12.4 billion from stock sales and $29 billion from new debt. 247wallst.com
Open questions
- Material 3 says revenue grew 25% YoY, while material 5 states revenue growth decelerated to 12% YoY.
Summary written by AlphAI AI Desk from 11 of 11 sources. Not investment advice. Figures are as stated by the linked sources.