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Google clocks first $100-billion quarter amid ‘full-stack approach to AI’
Alphabet's share price rises 2.7% to $274.57 after the quarterly results, even as an inflated capex and its impact on profitability remains in focus.
Google parent Alphabet Inc. has clocked its first $100-billion quarter as the company fired on all cylinders—Google Search, Google Cloud, YouTube and Google Gemini—underscoring the “full-stack approach to AI” of the world's largest search engine.
“Alphabet had a terrific quarter, with double-digit growth across every major part of our business. We delivered our first-ever $100 billion quarter,” Sundar Pichai, chief executive of Alphabet and Google, wrote on Google's blog The Keyword.
“Our full stack approach to AI is delivering strong momentum and we’re shipping at speed…,” he said. “We are investing to meet customer demand and capitalize on the growing opportunities across the company.”
Alphabet Q3 2025 Results: Key Highlighs (YoY)
- Revenue up 16% at $102.3 billion (Estimate: $99.85 billion)
- Operating income up 9.5% at $31.23 billion
- Operating margin down 100 basis points at 31%
- Net income up 33% at ₹34.98 billion
- Diluted EPS at $2.87 versus $2.12 in Q3 2024
One basis point is one-hundredth of a percentage point. Diluted EPS (earnings per share) shows how much profit is available to each potential share of common stock. It accounts for the possibility of more shares in the future, which would “dilute” the earnings per share.
Alphabet Q3 2025 Results: Segment-Wise
- Google Services revenue up 14% YoY at $87.1 billion
- Google Cloud revenue up 34% YoY at $15.2 billion
Google Services revenue includes Google Search ($56.57 bilion), YouTube ($10.26 billion) as well as earnings from subscription services. In all, Google earned $74.18 billion from showing ads across its platforms.
“We continue to drive strong growth in new businesses,” Pichai went on to say. “The Gemini App now has over 650 million monthly active users. Google Cloud accelerated, ending the quarter with $155 billion in backlog. And we have over 300 million paid subscriptions led by Google One and YouTube Premium.”
Google AI Bets
To be sure, Google has increased its capex significantly—from $85 billion in 2024 to $91-93 billion in 2025—as the company doubles down on building data centres to support its Cloud and AI ambitions. Chief Financial Officer Anat Ashkenazi said that about 60% of the company’s capex in July-September went to servers, with the rest directed to data centres and networking equipment that support its expanding AI operations.
Alphabet views its AI spending—from data centres and custom AI chips to research and talent—as critical for Google Cloud to compete against Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure.
“Nice work,” Elon Musk said of Alphabet quarterly results even as the stock gained 2.7% to close at $274.57 in regular trading Wednesday. The stock has gained 45% so far this year. Looking ahead, investors would do well to track its capex trajectory and its implied pressure on profitability.
