Google burns through $6bn in cash as AI spending climbs again

Alphabet's Q2 free cash flow dropped to $6.9bn, down $6bn year-on-year, driven by heavy AI infrastructure spending. Capex hit $19bn, up 45% YoY, mostly on servers and data centers. CEO Sundar Pichai said AI products are generating revenue but gave no figures. Cloud grew 28%, yet profits are getting eaten by investment—near-term returns remain unclear.

Why it matters: Alphabet earnings are a sector bellwether. The $6bn FCF drop and $19bn CapEx quantify the AI spending race in hard numbers. Pichai says AI products are generating revenue but gives no figure — that gap keeps this below 80.