FT News Briefing Alphabet’s brutal day on the stock market
93 snips
Oct 30, 2026 
Stephen Morris, the FT’s San Francisco bureau chief, explains Alphabet’s brutal market rout as AI costs soar and search growth slows. Kieran Smith, a technology and telecoms correspondent, explores Nscale’s ambitious $35bn IPO and its risky data-centre bet. Chief economics commentator Martin Wolf examines Christine Lagarde’s early ECB exit and the political stakes in choosing her successor.
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Amazon’s AI Spending Needs Faster Growth
- Amazon’s AI spending is raising investor expectations for much faster growth.
- Its cloud beat forecasts, but weak overall revenue and holiday guidance failed to justify $220 billion in annual capital expenditure.
Google’s AI Products Threaten Its Cash Cow
- Alphabet’s AI investment is colliding with weakness in its traditional search advertising engine.
- AI Overviews and AI mode make it harder for Google to serve adverts than its familiar list of links.
Alphabet’s Cash Flow Reversal Shocked Investors
- Investors punished Alphabet because its financial identity changed from cash generator to debt-heavy cash burner.
- It burned cash for two consecutive quarters and accumulated about $100 billion in debt after previously carrying almost none.