Big Tech Revenue Grows as Capital Spending Pressures Cash Flow

Revenue grew across search, advertising and cloud businesses in the third quarter, but capital spending exceeded operating cash flow at Alphabet and Meta, while Amazon posted negative free cash flow over 12 months.

Alphabet reported $42.29 billion in operating cash flow and $51.36 billion in property and equipment purchases for the quarter ended Sept. 30, leaving free cash flow at negative $9.07 billion. Google Search & other revenue rose 12% to $63.35 billion, and Google Cloud revenue climbed 103% to $30.71 billion.

Meta’s advertising revenue rose 26% to $63.06 billion. Operating cash flow was $32.79 billion, while capital expenditures of $34.91 billion, including principal payments on finance leases, left free cash flow at negative $2.12 billion. Meta’s 2026 capital spending outlook is $135 billion to $145 billion. CEO Mark Zuckerberg said, “Our investments are paying off, the core business is strong, and we're seeing velocity across the board.”

Amazon’s free cash flow was negative $42.36 billion for the 12 months ended Sept. 30, compared with positive $14.79 billion in the year-earlier period. Operating cash flow was $168.3 billion, while net property and equipment purchases reached $210.66 billion. Amazon attributed the rise in purchases primarily to investment in artificial intelligence (AI) and expects about $220 billion in cash capital expenditures in 2026. President and CEO Andy Jassy said broader product choice and faster delivery were helping the company gain retail market share while improving margins.

Microsoft reported $58 billion in operating cash flow and $39.37 billion in additions to property and equipment for the quarter ended Sept. 30. Subtracting the latter from the former gives calculated free cash flow of $18.63 billion, down about 27% from a similarly calculated $25.66 billion in the year-earlier quarter. Microsoft Cloud revenue rose 30% to $63.9 billion, and Azure revenue increased 48%.

The figures do not support a direct ranking: Amazon’s covers 12 months through Sept. 30, while the others cover three-month quarters, and free-cash-flow definitions differ. Alphabet subtracts capital expenditures from operating cash flow; Meta also deducts principal payments on finance leases; Amazon subtracts net property and equipment purchases. Microsoft’s figure is calculated from operating cash flow less additions to property and equipment.

The results add quarterly figures to TokenPost’s earlier coverage of the companies’ 2026 capital spending plans.