Alphabet shares fell 13% Thursday, erasing roughly $500 billion in market value in the stock's worst day on record. The drop followed Q3 results showing Google Services revenue of $96.3 billion, missing the $98.5 billion consensus, and search growth slowing to 12% year over year from 17% in Q2. The company also reported higher-than-expected operating expenses and negative free cash flow. Management said AI Mode queries monetize at a lower rate than traditional search. The decline weighed on the Nasdaq and fueled concerns that AI build-out costs are outrunning returns.
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