New York, February 17, 2026, 10:25 (EST) — Regular session
- Alphabet’s GOOG non-voting shares slipped roughly 2.5% out of the gate, with investors rotating out of megacap tech.
- Traders continue to puzzle over exactly when all this aggressive AI investment will start showing up as more predictable profits.
- Investors are eyeing Wednesday’s Fed minutes, with Nvidia’s results next week also in the spotlight for clues about the AI cycle.
Alphabet’s non-voting Class C shares (GOOG) dropped roughly 2.5% to $298.46 early this day, lagging the broader U.S. market as traders once more backed off the big tech names. The Invesco QQQ ETF, dominated by tech, slipped 1.2%, while the SPDR S&P 500 ETF edged down around 0.7%.
This shift is notable as the market’s AI narrative narrows its focus. “Markets are stress testing business models to see how resilient they are to AI disruption,” said Axel Botte, who heads market strategy at Ostrum Asset Management. 1
The selloff among the largest tech firms has picked up speed this year, with investors now doubting if AI spending will deliver returns quickly enough to support lofty price tags. Alphabet is sliding too, joining other huge stocks linked to AI infrastructure and cloud in the pullback. 2
Wall Street came back from the holiday break to a sluggish start, as stocks slipped and investors eyed developments in U.S.-Iran nuclear discussions that have dampened sentiment. Both the Nasdaq and S&P 500 kicked off trading below water. 3
Earlier this month, Alphabet shoved the “AI bill” issue back into headlines after it projected capital spending of $175 billion to $185 billion for 2026—almost double the $91.45 billion set for 2025. Capital spending, or capex, covers big-ticket investments: data centers, servers, networking gear. 4
Bernstein’s Mark Shmulik didn’t mince words on the size of the investment wave: “We’re quickly getting to north of a trillion dollars in combined 2026 investment across the mega caps,” he told investors. Over at the call, CEO Sundar Pichai flagged ongoing demand, saying supply is still a limiting factor and the company remains “supply-constrained.” 5
Alphabet has pitched its spending as justified by gains. Pichai, in a post linked to the most recent quarterly numbers, pointed to Search revenue up 17% and a 48% jump for Cloud. YouTube pulled in over $60 billion in annual revenue from ads and subscriptions. 6
Alphabet shares slid, and the selloff didn’t stop there. Microsoft lost roughly 1.2%, Nvidia retreated 1.7%, and Meta was off by 1.1% shortly after the open.
Still, this trade remains crowded. The risk is clear enough: capex outpacing revenue, or a jump in rates, could pressure valuations lower—even without a new company blowup. Last week, a Reuters analysis called out a market increasingly viewing AI as a “minefield.” Some stocks are getting hit not just by disruption fears, but worries over spending too. 7
Another cloud hanging over Google’s central ad operation: regulation. The European Commission is taking comments from advertisers through March 2 as it considers issues tied to Google’s Search ad auctions and how it sets prices. 8
Traders across the AI sector are zeroed in on Nvidia’s Feb. 25 earnings, eyeing how data-center demand sets the tone for the spending cycle, and what that means for Alphabet’s capex trajectory. 9
Next up, the macro focus sharpens: the Federal Reserve will drop minutes from its Jan. 27–28 meeting at 2:00 p.m. ET on Feb. 18. Rate bets have already been pushing tech stocks around. 10
