Alphabet, Google's parent company, reported earnings below expectations, with core search revenue falling short for two consecutive quarters and free cash flow turning negative by $9 billion, leading to an approximately 10% drop in its stock price after hours. Wall Street believes this reflects AI beginning to cannibalize its core search business. Third-quarter revenue from Search & other businesses grew 12% year-over-year to approximately $63 billion, but it was below expectations. The company's free cash flow was negative $9 billion, three times the forecast, and only the second time it has been negative since its IPO. However, Google Cloud revenue doubled to nearly $31 billion, with a backlog of $560 billion, indicating strong demand for AI infrastructure. The company maintained its capital expenditure forecast of $195 billion to $205 billion for 2026 and expects a significant increase in 2027.