AI sell-off spreads to Tokyo and Intel after Google owner Alphabet suffers its worst-ever day, losing $500bn
A Google DeepMind promotional screen introducing Gemini, the AI brand whose new Gemini 4 Carbon model Sundar Pichai unveiled just before Alphabet's earnings call as its shares tumbled over 10%.A data graphic showing Alphabet's share price movement, as an $8.7bn loss on equity investments tied to its SpaceX stake compounded the earnings miss.
Alphabet's net profit crashed 25% to $26.2bn in the third quarter, with the company burning through $9.1bn in negative free cash flow — nearly double the previous quarter's loss — as AI search summaries cannibalised the advertising revenue that funds Google's entire operation.
Alphabet's cloud unit was the one bright spot, with revenue more than doubling to $30.7bn — but investors refused to be consoled while search growth slowed from 17% to 12%.
Intel deepened the rout, its shares tumbling around 20% after the company warned of sluggish PC chip demand and shrinking margins, stoking broader anxiety about the AI spending chain.
A $8.7bn loss on equity investments, blamed on Alphabet's stake in Elon Musk's SpaceX following its difficult public float, added further pain to an already brutal quarter.
