{
  "id": 17145546,
  "title": "Is Alphabet Stock a Buy After Its Post-Earnings Drop?",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/29/is-alphabet-stock-a-buy-after-its-post-earnings-drop",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-10-29T23:47:01.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Motley Fool",
    "slug": "motley-fool",
    "url": "https://www.fool.com/investing/2026/10/29/is-alphabet-stock-a-buy-after-its-post-earnings-drop/?source=iedfolrf0000001"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Alphabet (GOOGL, GOOG) shares fell around 10% in after-hours trading on October 28 after the company released its Q3 results. Despite a 25% year-over-year revenue growth to $127.6 billion, and a more than doubled Google Cloud revenue of $30.7 billion, two factors contributed to the stock's decline: earnings per share dropped to $2.12 from $2.87, and free cash flow turned negative for the second consecutive quarter due to increased capital spending to $51.4 billion. The stock is currently trading near $293, down about 27% from its May 13 record close of $402.62. The earnings decline might appear more significant than it is, with a substantial portion of the drop stemming from gains and losses on investments. Excluding these investment swings, earnings per share grew 22% year-over-year. Operating income climbed 30% to $40.6 billion, with Google Cloud's revenue increasing 103% year-over-year and operating income tripling to $11.1 billion. Despite the company's heavy investment in AI, Google Cloud is generating significant profits, with operating margins dropping but still above the 33.9% level reported a year ago. While the company is borrowing and selling shares to cover the cash flow gap, the revenue growth and Google Cloud's performance suggest the stock may still be reasonably priced at around 19 times expected 2027 earnings.",
  "summary": "Most of the earnings decline came from investment losses. Is the cash flow a bigger worry?",
  "key_points": [
    "Alphabet shares dropped 10% after Q3 earnings release",
    "Earnings per share declined to $2.12, free cash flow turned negative",
    "Google Cloud revenue surged 103% with tripled operating income"
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Nasdaq Markets",
        "title": "Is Alphabet Stock a Buy After Its Post-Earnings Drop?",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/30/is-alphabet-stock-a-buy-after-its-post-earnings-drop",
        "published": "2026-10-30T00:07:01.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}