Alphabet's $482B Crash Marks Worst Day Since 2004

Alphabet's stock wiped out roughly $482 billion in a single day, its steepest plunge since 2004. The A shares tumbled 12.6% to $283.82 on Thursday, sending the S&P 500 down 0.3% and the Nasdaq off 1.4%. The drop followed a third-quarter earnings beat on cloud revenue, up 103% to $30.7 billion. But core search grew just 12% against the 15% analysts expected. Alphabet also splurged $51.4 billion on capital spending, more than double a year earlier, leaving free cash flow a negative $9.1 billion. Bank of America now values Google search at about ten times earnings, far below the S&P's 18.7× forward multiple. It also trails the energy sector's roughly 13× valuation. The analyst kept a buy rating but cut the price target to $380 from $430. He said the slowdown in high-margin search is the main worry. Justin Post summed it up: "Search now trades at ten times earnings - the AI hype isn't paying off yet."