Alphabet posted its second-quarter earnings after Wednesday's closing bell, beating on the headline numbers and giving a higher forecast for this year's capital expenditures. But some analysts say the debate over the future of Google's search empire is still unsettled.

The company increased that figure on Wednesday to $85 billion, saying it was raising it due to “strong and growing demand for our Cloud products and services.” The company expects to further increase capital expenditures in 2026, Alphabet finance chief Anat Ashkenazi said on an earnings call.

NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street is hanging near its records on Thursday, though the calm surface of the U.S. stock market is hiding some roiling moves underneath. Alphabet is rising, and Tesla is tumbling following a jumble of profit reports from big U.S. companies.

Most leaders in the tech industry owe their wealth to founding equity stakes in their platforms, which Google’s Sundar Pichai does not have.

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Alphabet was targeted with an EU antitrust complaint from six human and digital rights groups on Thursday which urged EU regulators to investigate whether the tech giant complies with legislation requiring it to make it easier for users to uninstall software apps.

AI upstarts were supposed to lay siege to Google’s search-engine dominance. So far, the defense is winning, writes Asa Fitch, following second-quarter results from parent company Alphabet. A: Google’s

Alphabet is growing fast in core and cloud segments, though rising AI capex is pressuring free cash flow and returns. Learn why GOOGL stock is a buy.

Wall Street inched to more records as gains for Alphabet and artificial-intelligence stocks helped make up for Tesla’s steep tumble.