GOOG · News · 20261102N

Free Cash Flow and Capex

Alphabet Inc. · 2026-11-02 · Importance 44 · Surprise 24

Alphabet reported negative free cash flow of $9.1 billion in Q3 2026, marking its second consecutive quarter below zero. A separate report put trailing-12-month free cash flow at positive $19.7 billion. The reports linked the negative quarterly cash flow to Alphabet’s heavy AI infrastructure investment, but did not provide Alphabet-specific capex totals.

Key facts

• Combined capex for Amazon, Alphabet, Meta and Microsoft rose by $36.9 billion in the third quarter to $201.9 billion, more than doubling over the past 12 months and increasing 356% since the first quarter of 2024. source
• Alphabet, Amazon, Microsoft and Meta were on track to spend more than $700 billion on capital investment in 2026, much of it on AI infrastructure, according to analyst estimates. source
• Combined free cash flow for Amazon, Alphabet, Meta and Microsoft fell $33.1 billion in the third quarter to negative $26.4 billion, its lowest on record. source
• Amazon, Alphabet, Meta and Microsoft spent a combined $1.6 trillion on capex over the last three years, according to strategists. source
• Alphabet's quarterly free cash flow was negative $9.1 billion for a second consecutive quarter. source
• Alphabet reported negative free cash flow of $9.1 billion in Q3 2026, while its trailing 12-month free cash flow remained positive at $19.7 billion. source