Alphabet suffered its steepest single-day stock decline since going public in 2004 after its third-quarter financial results disappointed investors.

Shares fell nearly 13% on Thursday, marking the company’s worst trading session since its public listing. The decline exceeded previous major sell-offs, including losses of more than 10% in March 2020 and September 2008.

According to Yahoo Finance calculations, the fall wiped approximately $482 billion from Alphabet’s market capitalisation. That would rank as the second-largest single-day loss in market value recorded by a US-listed company.

Nvidia holds the reported record after losing approximately $593 billion in market value on January 27, 2025. Investor concerns about artificial intelligence competition from China’s DeepSeek contributed to that decline.

Alphabet’s latest loss also surpassed the reported $400 billion decline attributed to SpaceX on June 22. In absolute dollar terms, Thursday’s fall marked Alphabet’s largest-ever single-day market-value loss. Its previous record was approximately $275 billion on July 23, 2026.

Bespoke Investment Group said the sell-off also represented Alphabet’s biggest post-earnings decline since its public listing. The previous record was a fall of nearly 10% in July 2008.

Mixed Quarterly Results Raise Investor Concerns

Alphabet’s third-quarter results delivered mixed signals. Google Cloud recorded strong growth, with revenue more than doubling to approximately $31 billion.

Google’s Gemini application also surpassed one billion users, highlighting the company’s expanding presence in artificial intelligence.

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However, the core search business fell short of market expectations. Search revenue increased 12% to approximately $63 billion, below Wall Street’s estimated $65 billion.

Investors also reacted to Alphabet’s rising AI-related expenditure. Free cash flow reportedly moved into a deficit of approximately $9 billion as the company increased spending on data centres and AI infrastructure.

Financial commitments and investments involving AI research companies added to concerns about the scale of its spending.

The results intensified questions about whether Alphabet can maintain its search business growth while investing heavily in artificial intelligence.

Analysts Debate AI Threat to Google Search

Pivotal Research CEO Jeffrey Wlodarczak suggested that investors may increasingly view artificial intelligence as a competitive threat to Google’s traditional search business.

He said bearish investors could interpret the quarterly results as evidence that AI is beginning to affect the company’s search operations.

CFRA analyst Angelo Zino offered a more positive assessment. Speaking to Yahoo Finance, he suggested that the share-price decline could present a potential buying opportunity.

The contrasting views reflect uncertainty about how AI will affect Google’s established business model and future growth.

Major Market-Value Losses Become More Frequent

Alphabet’s decline comes amid a broader rise in large market-value losses among US-listed companies.

Yahoo Finance calculations based on Bloomberg data showed that US-listed stocks recorded single-day market-capitalisation declines of at least $200 billion on 18 occasions during 2026 through Wednesday.

The figure compares with 13 such occasions throughout 2025. No comparable declines occurred before 2022, according to the reported data.

Alphabet has also lost approximately $1.4 trillion in market value since reaching a record valuation in May.

The figures highlight growing volatility among major technology companies. Investors are increasingly weighing AI opportunities against infrastructure costs, profitability and long-term revenue growth.

Amazon Faces Similar Pressure Over AI Spending

Concerns about AI investment have also spread beyond Alphabet.

Amazon, the last of the three major cloud service providers to report results during the week, announced faster cloud growth after Thursday’s market close.

Amazon Web Services (AWS) recorded revenue growth of 39%, its fastest expansion in nearly five years.

However, Amazon’s trailing 12-month free cash flow fell to a record outflow of more than $42 billion.

The company’s shares also declined in after-hours trading.

The developments suggest that investors are scrutinising technology companies’ AI spending more closely. Strong revenue growth and expanding AI capabilities may not be enough to satisfy markets if companies cannot demonstrate sustainable cash generation.

Investors are now assessing whether heavy investment in AI infrastructure can deliver lasting profitability and shareholder value.