Alphabet Q2 2026 — The Day AI Infrastructure Spending Became the Story

On July 22, 2026, Alphabet's Q2 earnings marked an inflection point in the AI infrastructure narrative. Cloud revenue rocketed 82% to $24.77B (massive beat), YouTube Ads hit $11.06B (+13%), but Google Search missed estimates by 0.16% ($63.3B vs $63.4B). Capex hit $44.9B for the quarter — $132.4B TTM — and FY2026 guidance was raised to ~$205B. Free cash flow turned negative (-$5.9B) for the first time. Net income of $112.1B was inflated by $99B in equity gains. The stock fell ~5% after-hours. The question now: is $205B the ceiling or just the next floor?