Alphabet Shares Fall 10% Before Open After $9.07 Billion Cash Outflow

Alphabet shares fell about 10% in premarket trading Thursday as investors reacted to third-quarter free cash flow of negative $9.07 billion, far weaker than the $2.70 billion expected.

The cash figure covers the third quarter, while the roughly 10% move reflects trading before the U.S. market opened Thursday. The two figures measure different things, but they frame the earnings reaction: a cash result below expectations coincided with a sharp decline in the shares.

A close down more than 9.77% Thursday would mark Alphabet's largest earnings-day decline since 2004. The stock's premarket drop was about 10%, but that early move does not establish the record because the threshold is based on the closing price.

The next marker is the end of Thursday's session. Only a closing decline above 9.77% would meet the stated record threshold; the premarket percentage alone does not settle whether the milestone is reached by the end of regular trading.