#alphabet — Dave Lee

Column: Alphabet Investors Sound a Warning for Profligate AI Spending

Alphabet Inc.’s impressive second-quarter earnings release on Wednesday seemed on course to go down mostly well with investors. Until the earnings call, the Google parent’s share price was up marginally in after-hours trading, buoyed by cloud growth that smashed estimates.

Then executives disclosed their projection that capital expenditures would increase again, sending the stock down by as much as 4.6%. Let it be a warning to the other hyperscalers preparing to report next week: Even with a quarter as good as this one, you’ll still be punished if you announce yet more spending in pursuit of artificial intelligence.

Alphabet Investors Sound a Warning for Profligate AI Spendingbloomberg.comAlphabet Inc.’s impressive second-quarter earnings release on Wednesday seemed on course to go down mostly well with investors. Until the earnings call, the Google parent’s share price was up marginally in after-hours trading, buoyed by cloud growth that smashed estimates.

Waymo is launching a membership scheme. For $29.99 per month, the perks look a little... light:

Premier members will be able to skip the virtual line and earn 10% cash back on every trip (and “even more during busy times,” according to Waymo). They’ll also get five free ride cancellations every month, and Waymo says Premier members will even be able to hail a robotaxi in cities where the service still has a waitlist.

But it's all groundwork. I still wonder if the prospect of buying Lyft is on the table for Alphabet. Maybe they feel they don't need it -- you can't help but be impressed by the growth of Waymo across the US (and now London, too). Certainly more impressive than the mere 59 cars currently active on Tesla's Robotaxi network.