[Google Q3 Earnings Analysis: Cloud Revenue Doubles but Search Advertising Growth Slows, Free Cash Flow Gap Widens, Stock Price Plunges 10% in After-Hours Trading] BlockBeats reports that on October 29th, Alphabet, Google's parent company, released its Q3 2026 earnings report, with revenue of approximately $127.6 billion, a 25% year-over-year increase, but below LSEG's expectation of $128.2 billion. The stock price fell approximately 10% in after-hours trading. The core contrast presented in this earnings report is: accelerated growth in the cloud business, but continued pressure on search monetization conversion and cash recovery. Google Cloud was the main highlight: revenue of $30.709 billion, a 103% year-over-year increase; operating profit of $11.121 billion, approximately 3.1 times that of the same period last year, with segment operating margin rising from 23.7% to 36.2%. The company noted that sales of enterprise AI infrastructure, AI solutions, and TPU systems all contributed to the growth. Looking at the segment data, the growth is reflected in improved operating profit, but all cloud revenue cannot be equated with AI revenue. On the search side, there is a discrepancy between usage and monetization pace. Search query volume saw its highest year-over-year growth in five years; search and other revenue grew 12% to $63.35 billion, but total advertising revenue was approximately $82 billion, lower than the expected $83.4 billion. Chief Business Officer Philipp Schindler explained that exchange rates were the primary factor driving the slower growth in search revenue compared to the previous quarter, while changes in advertising spending in some industries and the lower monetization level of AI Mode also had an impact. The company is expanding its AI search advertising efforts. In terms of cash flow, operating cash flow this quarter was $42.29 billion, capital expenditures were $51.355 billion, and free cash flow was approximately negative $9.07 billion, marking the second consecutive quarter of negative cash flow, with the gap widening from approximately $5.9 billion in the previous quarter. The CFO also pointed out that increased TPU inventory and the $5.2 billion EU fine payment also impacted quarterly cash flow, therefore the entire shortfall cannot be simply attributed to new AI capital expenditures. The decline in earnings per share also needs to be differentiated between operating and investment factors. The company's operating profit increased by 30% year-on-year to $40.576 billion, but GAAP earnings per share fell to $2.12, affected by the unrealized loss from the SpaceX investment. According to Reuters' adjusted figures, earnings per share were $2.67, still below the expected $3.02, meaning the performance gap cannot be entirely explained by investment losses. The company maintained its 2026 capital expenditure guidance of $195 billion to $205 billion, expecting a significant increase in 2027, though specific amounts have not yet been disclosed. Management also cautioned that increased use of third-party computing power in the fourth quarter will put pressure on cloud business profit margins in the near term, and TPU inventory buildup will continue to impact free cash flow.