Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) Stock Falls 12.3% After Earnings Miss

Posted by Brian Himes on Oct 29th, 2026

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG – Get Free Report)’s share price fell 12.3% during mid-day trading on Thursday following a weaker than expected earnings announcement. The stock traded as low as $278.29 and last traded at $282.32. 91,798,694 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 347% from the average session volume of 20,542,471 shares. The stock had previously closed at $321.89.

The information services provider reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.01 by ($0.89). The company had revenue of $127.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $127.97 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 54.77% and a return on equity of 51.32%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.87 EPS.

Key Headlines Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

Positive Sentiment: Google Cloud revenue more than doubled year over year to approximately $30.7 billion, while operating income tripled and margins expanded to 36.2%. Backlog increased to roughly $561 billion, supporting the long-term case for Alphabet’s cloud and AI investments. Alphabet’s Cloud Business Just Doubled
Positive Sentiment: Revenue rose 24.7% year over year to $127.6 billion, and search query growth reached its strongest rate in five years. Analysts who remain bullish argue that Alphabet’s valuation, advertising franchise and growing cloud business could create a long-term buying opportunity. Alphabet: Generational Buy Opportunity
Neutral Sentiment: OpenAI reportedly plans to purchase Google’s custom TPU chips, potentially expanding Alphabet’s AI infrastructure business and reducing reliance on Nvidia. However, the commercial impact and deal terms remain uncertain. OpenAI Reportedly Plans to Buy Google’s AI Chips
Negative Sentiment: Alphabet reported adjusted EPS of $2.12, well below expectations near $3.00, while revenue also narrowly missed forecasts. An approximately $8.7 billion unrealized investment loss, largely tied to its SpaceX stake, significantly pressured reported profit. Alphabet Q3 Earnings Report
Negative Sentiment: Capital expenditures reached about $51.4 billion and quarterly free cash flow turned negative by roughly $9.1 billion. Investors are questioning whether Alphabet can generate sufficient returns from its AI infrastructure spending, particularly as debt and other potential AI obligations increase. Alphabet Falls After Earnings
Negative Sentiment: Search and YouTube advertising growth was weaker than expected, reinforcing fears that AI chatbots and AI-generated search results could reduce direct user engagement or shift Alphabet toward lower-margin queries. Analysts have consequently flagged slower search growth and margin pressure. Alphabet Earnings Reflect AI Pressure on Search

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Moffett Nathanson decreased their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $380.00 to $370.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 16th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $450.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday. Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus set a $485.00 target price on Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Finally, HSBC set a $515.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have issued a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $412.05.

View Our Latest Analysis on GOOG

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, Director Frances Arnold sold 83 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $340.45, for a total value of $28,257.35. Following the sale, the director owned 19,076 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,494,424.20. The trade was a 0.43% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Alphabet

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of GOOG. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC increased its position in Alphabet by 135.5% during the 3rd quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 73 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Livelsberger Financial Advisory purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 3rd quarter valued at $37,000. Toth Financial Advisory Corp bought a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 2nd quarter worth $41,000. Finally, Timbuktu Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Alphabet in the second quarter valued at about $46,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $3.45 trillion, a P/E ratio of 14.18, a P/E/G ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.19. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $338.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $338.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 2.72 and a quick ratio of 2.64.

About Alphabet

(Get Free Report)

Alphabet Inc is a technology holding company best known as the parent organization of Google. Founded in 2015 through a corporate restructuring, Alphabet oversees Google and a collection of businesses focused on technology, online services, communications, artificial intelligence, and other emerging areas.

Google’s principal products and services include its internet search engine, digital advertising platforms, YouTube, Android, Chrome, Google Maps, Google Play, and Google Workspace. The company also provides cloud computing, data storage, cybersecurity, productivity, and artificial intelligence services through Google Cloud.