KEY TAKEAWAYS
  • Alphabet reported record Q2 2026 revenue of $119.8 billion, up 24% from a year earlier, with Google Cloud revenue up 82% to $24.8 billion.
  • Alphabet shares still fell about 5% in after hours trading, after the company said it now plans to spend up to $205 billion this year on AI infrastructure, more than it had previously expected.
  • Most of Alphabet's record $9.11 profit per share came from paper gains on its stakes in Anthropic and SpaceX; if excluded, its real profit per share was $2.85, below the $2.89 analysts expected.

Alphabet reported second quarter revenue of $119.8 billion on Wednesday, July 22, up 24% from a year earlier and ahead of the roughly $117 billion Wall Street had forecast. Google Cloud led the way, growing 82% to $24.8 billion. Google's core search business grew too, up 17% to $63.3 billion.

The stock fell anyway. Alphabet shares dropped about 5% in after hours trading once the earnings call turned to spending. The company said it now expects to spend $195 billion to $205 billion on data centers and AI infrastructure this year, up from the $180 billion to $190 billion it had planned just one quarter earlier, and warned that spending would climb again in 2027.

The headline profit number added to the confusion. Alphabet reported $9.11 in profit for every share of stock, up 294% from a year ago. Analysts trace most of that jump to paper gains on Alphabet's stakes in Anthropic and SpaceX rather than the underlying business. Anthropic's valuation roughly tripled this quarter to $965 billion after a $65 billion funding round, and Alphabet owns about 14% of the company.

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Google Cloud Revenue Jumped 82% in Q2 2026

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