New York, Feb 2, 2026, 10:02 (ET) — Regular session
- Alphabet’s Class C shares (GOOG) slipped 0.1% in early trading following a volatile start
- Investors are bracing for the February 4 earnings report, looking for insights on AI-related spending and cloud business expansion
- Waymo is aiming to raise roughly $16 billion, valuing the company close to $110 billion, Bloomberg reported
Alphabet Inc’s Class C shares (GOOG.O) edged down 0.1% to $338.14 Monday morning, after an earlier drop dragged the price as low as $334.
The market drift arrives ahead of a busy week. Alphabet is scheduled to report its Q4 and full-year 2025 results on Wednesday, Feb. 4, with a conference call at 4:30 p.m. ET. Wall Street kicked off lower after a sharp drop in precious metals shook risk appetite.
Waymo has entered the spotlight as well. Alphabet’s self-driving arm is targeting around $16 billion in funding that would peg its valuation close to $110 billion, Bloomberg News reported. Alphabet itself is expected to pitch in about $13 billion. Waymo told Reuters it remains focused on “safety-led operational excellence and technological leadership.” Reuters
Investors are growing wary of big-ticket bets. On Monday, Oracle revealed plans to raise $45 billion to $50 billion in 2026 for a data-center expansion linked to OpenAI. Reuters highlighted ongoing skepticism about whether the massive AI infrastructure investments will pay off. Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said, “nervousness about the situation looks unlikely to go away any time soon.” Reuters
Alphabet faces intense scrutiny on three fronts: advertising demand in Search and YouTube, the growth trajectory of Google Cloud, and the costs tied to expanding its AI infrastructure, particularly servers and data centers.
Capital spending, or capex, refers to the funds companies put into long-term assets such as chips, network equipment, and data-center campuses. While it can boost growth down the line, it puts pressure on cash flow immediately.
Alphabet’s Class C shares come without voting rights, unlike the Class A shares (GOOGL.O). Typically, both move in tandem since they reflect the same business and guidance.
But the risk concerns go beyond budgets. “It’s risk off and de-leveraging,” noted Christopher Forbes, head of Asia and Middle East at CMC Markets, as the slump in precious metals spread to other assets, pushing some investors to slash exposure quickly. Reuters
If megacap tech faces a sharper selloff, Alphabet could get pulled down too, no matter what it says on Wednesday. This risk grows if investors decide AI expenses will remain steep and profits take longer to materialize.
Up next is a straightforward date: Feb. 4. Traders will watch closely for any shift in the company’s spending discipline, and whether cloud and ads remain strong enough to support the stock.
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