Stock Market Update
23-Jul-26 11:00 ET
Alphabet slides on capital expenditure worries
Dow -474.20
at 51744.38,
Nasdaq -610.22
at 25101.69,
S&P -91.49
at 7407.47
[BRIEFING.COM] The major averages continue to chart session lows.
At the center of today's weakness is Alphabet (GOOG 317.14, -24.77, -7.25%), which is trading sharply lower despite an outstanding Q2 report because investors are focusing on what the quarter implies for spending intensity and cash generation rather than on the headline EPS and revenue upside. company reported Q2 GAAP EPS of $9.11, boosted by investment gains, while adjusted EPS reflected a much more typical operating quarter, and revenue rose to $119.8 billion versus the FactSet consensus of $117.07 billion, driven by exceptional Search and Google Cloud performance.
However, management also raised FY26 CapEx guidance to $195-$205 billion from $180-$190 billion, reported $44.9 billion of Q2 CapEx and negative free cash flow of $5.9 billion, and warned that third-party capacity, higher depreciation, energy costs, and an FX headwind will create modest margin pressure in Q3 as AI infrastructure investment continues to accelerate.
