"Alphabet has unveiled plans to spend between $175bn and $185bn this year, sharply exceeding Wall Street expectations as it intensifies its push in the global artificial intelligence race. The capital expenditure target is well above analysts' average forecast of about $115bn, according to LSEG data, and marks another escalation in spending among the world's technology hyperscalers. The announcement came alongside strong fourth-quarter results."
"Under chief executive Sundar Pichai, Alphabet has repositioned itself as a leading force in AI after earlier concerns that start-ups such as OpenAI might disrupt its core search business. Google's Gemini model has become a central pillar of its strategy, with the Gemini AI assistant app exceeding 650 million monthly users in November. Its AI Overviews feature within search has reached more than 2 billion monthly users. The company is also investing heavily in custom AI chips and data centre infrastructure,"
"Last month, Google secured a high-profile partnership with Apple to power an upgraded version of Siri with Gemini models, opening access to Apple's installed base of more than 2.5 billion devices. Nikhil Lai, principal analyst at Forrester, said the results demonstrated resilience in Alphabet's core advertising business. "Record ad revenue signals sustained momentum in search and solid performance from YouTube," he said, noting that YouTube's scale now exceeds that of Netflix."
Alphabet plans capital expenditures of $175bn–$185bn this year, well above analysts' roughly $115bn forecast, as it accelerates AI and infrastructure spending. Fourth-quarter revenue rose 18% year‑on‑year to $113.8bn and net income climbed 30% to $34.5bn. Shares slipped modestly after-hours amid investor concern over elevated spending commitments. Google's Gemini model and AI Overviews reached hundreds of millions to billions of monthly users, and the company is investing in custom AI chips and data‑centre capacity. A partnership will integrate Gemini into Siri across over 2.5 billion Apple devices. Advertising and YouTube contributed strongly to revenue momentum.
Read at Business Matters
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