Google burned $6bn in cash last quarter as AI infrastructure spending keeps climbing

FirstFT: Google burned through cash last quarter amid AI infrastructure splurge

Alphabet burned through $6bn in free cash flow last quarter as capex hit $28bn, driven by data centers and custom TPU chips. CEO Pichai said cloud growth is literally constrained by available compute capacity, so they have no choice but to keep building. Revenue still rose 14% to $97bn, with search and ads holding up, but the cash burn sent shares down 4% after hours. The article doesn't provide an updated full-year capex target, only that spending won't slow in H2.

Why it matters: Google's AI capex burn is concrete and Pichai's compute-bottleneck quote elevates this beyond routine earnings. Missing a full-year capex update keeps it below 80.