Jul. 24 at 3:23 AM
$GOOG $SPY $QQQ Google just posted negative free cash flow for the first time since going public:
Alphabet's free cash flow turned negative to -
$5.9 billion in Q2, marking its first negative quarter since the company's August 2004 IPO.
This comes as capital expenditures surged to
$44.9 billion for the quarter, driving the company to raise its full-year 2026 CapEx guidance for the second time this year, to
$195-205 billion from a prior
$180-190 billion.
$GOOGL has also taken on
$100 billion in debt and raised
$85 billion through its first share sale in over two decades, a sharp reversal after years of buying back its own stock.
As a result, investors are increasingly questioning whether the world's biggest hyperscalers are still investing to win the AI race, or spending at a pace that is beginning to erode the earnings power that justified the investment thesis in the first place.
