New York, Feb 10, 2026, 10:16 a.m. EST — Regular session underway.
- Alphabet’s Class C stock (GOOG) slid early, with debt concerns and fresh regulatory news weighing on the shares.
- Alphabet has tapped the bond market for $20 billion, underscoring how Big Tech is still pouring cash into AI infrastructure.
- Feb. 11 brings U.S. jobs data, with traders watching closely; the CPI follows on Feb. 13, both offering fresh rate signals.
Alphabet Inc’s non-voting Class C shares (GOOG) slipped roughly 1.9% to $318.37 during Tuesday morning trading, pulling the company’s market cap down to around $2.9 trillion.
Alphabet’s deeper dive into debt to bankroll its AI expansion is getting extra scrutiny from both credit and equity investors. On top of that, regulators and publishers are watching closely as AI changes how search works, raising the chances that fresh features could trigger fresh regulations.
Alphabet has raised $20 billion through a seven-part bond sale, tapping debt markets to bankroll AI infrastructure as tech giants ramp up capital outlays. The maturities on these notes range from 2029 out to 2066. According to a filing, Alphabet is also eyeing its first sterling-denominated bond, and may even float a rare 100-year issue. Spending on capex by Alphabet, Microsoft, Amazon and Meta is on track to hit at least $630 billion this year. “Century bonds are usually the preserve of governments or regulated utilities,” eToro’s Lale Akoner noted, adding that the appetite shows investors are ready, for now, to back ultra-long AI risk. Reuters
Google faces an antitrust complaint in Europe, as the European Publishers Council targets its AI Overviews — those AI-powered summaries sitting atop search results. Christian Van Thillo, who chairs the EPC, argued the move is about “stopping a dominant gatekeeper,” warning that the new tool could “undermin[e] the economic compact” supporting the web’s publishing ecosystem. The European Commission is looking into whether Google’s terms for publishers cross the line into unfair trading. Google did not immediately reply to a request for comment. Reuters
Alphabet’s legal headaches aren’t letting up, especially around branding and artificial intelligence. In the latest move, Autodesk filed suit against Google in San Francisco federal court, challenging Google’s use of “Flow” for its AI-powered film and television production software. Reuters
This bond sale lands squarely in the current stampede among AI-focused firms to secure capital for data centers and chips. Barclays analysts are projecting $2.46 trillion in U.S. corporate bond sales by 2026. One high-yield bond manager described it as “one of the biggest capex spends” he’s ever seen. Karthik Nandyal, CredCore’s co-founder, noted that AI has “eaten in to cash flows” in some software sectors, pushing investors to revisit their models. Reuters
Elsewhere among the megacaps, Microsoft climbed roughly 2.0% in early moves, Amazon edged 0.8% higher, while Meta slipped 0.4%. Even within the AI-heavy group, investors are clearly getting selective.
Still, the setup carries risks. Heavier debt and an extended repayment timeline would strain free cash flow if ad growth slows. And if regulators demand tweaks to search features, traffic and pricing power could take a hit—tough variables to predict.
Traders are eyeing the rescheduled U.S. Employment Situation report for January, set to hit Wednesday, Feb. 11. The January CPI lands Friday, Feb. 13. Both releases have the potential to jolt rate forecasts and, with them, valuations for tech stocks that move on rates.
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