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- 🗞️ Alphabet's Rising Debt Pile
🗞️ Alphabet's Rising Debt Pile
PLUS: Micron spikes 10%
Market Performance
S&P 500: 6,941.47 ⬇️ 0.01%
Nasdaq: 23,066.47 ⬇️ 0.16%
Dow Jones: 50,121.40 ⬇️ 0.13%
Alphabet's Massive Debt Binge
Alphabet (GOOGL) is going on a borrowing spree that's turning heads on Wall Street.
The tech giant is finalizing a global bond issuance exceeding $30 billion—up from the $20 billion it initially raised on Monday.
On Tuesday morning alone, Alphabet tapped European markets for roughly $11 billion in sterling and Swiss francs. That brings its total recent debt haul to nearly $32 billion.
Why the sudden appetite for debt? AI infrastructure isn't cheap. Alphabet expects to shell out up to $185 billion in capital expenditures this year—more than double its 2025 spending.
Between high-priced chips, massive data centers, and networking technology, the company is essentially building a new digital empire from scratch.
Amazon, Meta, and Microsoft are collectively projected to spend nearly $700 billion on AI infrastructure in 2026.
The result? Free cash flow is expected to plummet across Big Tech.
What's particularly interesting is Alphabet's timing. The company just held a $25 billion bond sale in November, and its long-term debt quadrupled in 2025 to $46.5 billion.
Investors are clearly hungry for high-quality tech paper, with the latest deal reportedly five times oversubscribed.
But here's the catch: Alphabet is now acknowledging new risks in its financial filings. The company warned about potential "excess capacity" from these costly commitments and the possibility that AI could cannibalize its core advertising business.
GOOGL stock has a Ziggma score of 83 despite trailing peers in terms of growth and valuation.
Our Takeaway
Alphabet is making a calculated bet that AI infrastructure spending today will secure dominance tomorrow.
The debt binge signals confidence, but also desperation—missing this AI wave could mean losing ground to Microsoft and Amazon.
For investors, the question is simple: will $185 billion in capex generate enough returns to justify quadrupling debt in just two years?
The Gemini AI app's 750 million monthly active users suggest they're on the right track, but execution risk has never been higher.
This data is a goldmine—and here is how to maximize it. Turn the $660B AI buildout into a strategy. Trace cash flow, margins, and valuations of the AI supply chain at Stockpicker. tech
Hyperscaler spending is the fuel; the semiconductor stack is the engine. From the chips of NVIDIA and AMD to the connectivity of Broadcom and Credo—all the way back to the foundries of TSMC and the machines of ASML. Every dollar spent is revenue found. Visualize the winners in seconds.
➡️ FREE ZIGGMA RESEARCH: Nvidia (NVDA Stock): 60%+ Earnings Growth, AI Dominance, and a Profound Impact Edge 🔖 Read for free on Substack 🎧 Listen to podcast
Market Overview 📈
The Bureau of Labor Statistics delivered a better-than-expected January nonfarm payrolls report, showing 130,000 jobs added versus the 55,000 economists anticipated.
The unemployment rate also improved to 4.3%, slightly below the 4.4% forecast.
While the headline number looked strong, job growth remained concentrated in just a few sectors—predominantly healthcare, which added 124,000 positions alone.
That's double the normal growth rate. Plus, every month in 2025 saw downward revisions, and average monthly job growth last year was just 15,000 when benchmark adjustments were factored in.
Treasury yields initially spiked on the stronger data, reducing the odds for Federal Reserve rate cuts. That doused the rally. By the close, all three major indexes finished in the red as reality set in: the labor market is improving, but it's far from solid.
Software stocks got hammered again as AI disruption fears resurfaced. The iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF dropped 3%, with ServiceNow falling 6% and Salesforce declining 5%.
The fund is now down 21% over the past month and sitting nearly 30% below its 52-week high—firmly in bear market territory.
Stock Moves Deciphered 📈
📉 Robinhood (HOOD)
Robinhood tumbled 7% in after-hours trading after disappointing Q4 results. Revenue came in at $1.28 billion, falling short of the $1.34 billion analysts expected.
Transaction-based revenue also missed expectations at $776 million versus the $801.4 million consensus.
🤖 Micron Technology (MU)
Micron shares surged 9.94% following bullish analyst commentary on high-bandwidth memory (HBM) demand.
The company has sold out its 2026 HBM supply, reinforcing its position as a key beneficiary of the AI boom.
🚀 Vertiv (VRT)
Vertiv skyrocketed 24.49% after reporting strong fourth-quarter earnings and issuing bullish guidance for the first quarter of 2026.
The company, which provides critical digital infrastructure, is experiencing a surge in demand for its AI data center cooling solutions.
As hyperscalers such as Alphabet, Microsoft, and Meta invest hundreds of billions in AI infrastructure, Vertiv's thermal management and power systems have become mission-critical.
Headlines You Can't Miss 👀
📊 Tariff collections surged 304% in January versus the same period in 2025, with customs duties totaling $30 billion for the month as Trump's universal tariffs took effect.
🏠 Zillow shares plummeted 17%, pacing for their worst day since November 2021, after Q4 earnings of $0.39 per share missed the $0.40 estimate despite revenue beating forecasts.
🍔 Kraft Heinz suspended plans to split the company, with new CEO Steve Cahillane saying many issues are "fixable and within our control"—a move Berkshire Hathaway's Greg Abel publicly supported.
🎵 Spotify shares jumped 2% after Bank of America called Q4 earnings "a sigh of relief" and reiterated a buy rating, citing strong personalization features and AI integration plans.
☁️ Kingsoft Cloud surged 10% after Goldman Sachs upgraded the stock to buy with a $15.60 price target, citing Xiaomi's AI investments as a key catalyst for cloud demand.
🚢 Norwegian Cruise Line downgraded to equal weight at Barclays amid weak Caribbean pricing and concerns over the company's "de-premiumization" strategy and execution challenges.
💊 Moderna tumbled 10% after the FDA refused to review its application for experimental flu shot mRNA-1010, citing inconsistencies with prior agency feedback—a blow amid RFK Jr.'s immunization policy overhaul.
⚡ Generac jumped 6% despite missing Q4 earnings expectations, as CEO Aaron Jagdfeld highlighted strong data center market growth and expected backlog expansion from hyperscaler demand.
🏥 Humana slid 6.7% despite beating Q4 expectations with a smaller-than-expected adjusted loss of $3.96 per share on revenues of $32.52 billion versus consensus estimates.
₿ Bitcoin dropped below $67,000, trading down 2.5% as the cryptocurrency's rebound lost momentum amid ongoing market uncertainty and risk-off sentiment.
Trending Stocks 📊
🏗️ QXO (QXO)
QXO's stock jumped 16.6% on the announcement of its $2.25 billion acquisition of Kodiak Building Partners.
This strategic move is part of a larger growth strategy expected to be highly accretive to earnings and significantly expand QXO's footprint in the building products distribution market.
💸 HubSpot (HUBS)
HubSpot's shares fell 9.75% after the company provided a weak financial outlook for the upcoming quarter.
Although HubSpot's fourth-quarter 2025 earnings and revenue surpassed analyst expectations, the disappointing forward guidance overshadowed the positive results.
⬇️ Unity (U)
Unity's stock plummeted 26% after the company issued a cautious first-quarter 2026 forecast.
While its fourth-quarter 2025 earnings beat expectations, the weak guidance for the upcoming quarter spooked investors, raising concerns about a potential slowdown in demand for its game development platform and services.
What’s Next?
Key market and macro news 👇
🎤 Applied Materials reports Q1 2026 earnings with an EPS estimate of $2.21—semiconductor equipment results will influence tech sector sentiment.
💊 Vertex Pharmaceuticals delivers Q4 results with an EPS estimate of $5.15—pipeline updates could drive biotech sector moves.
₿ Coinbase releases Q4 2025 earnings with EPS estimate of $0.96—crypto market conditions and trading volumes in focus.
🛌 Airbnb announces Q4 2025 results with EPS estimate of $0.66—booking trends signal consumer spending strength.
🧑✈️ Initial Jobless Claims: Forecast of 225,000 versus 222,000 consensus will test labor market resilience.
🏠 Existing Home Sales: Expected 4.2 million units represents -3.4% monthly decline, signaling housing market cooling.
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