Alphabet sold $84.75 billion in new stock last week, growing from an original target of $80 billion after investor demand pushed the offer higher.
This sale marked the first time Google’s parent company has issued new shares since 2005. The company says the money has a single purpose, which is funding the computing power its artificial intelligence (AI) systems need. However, the timing of this sale has nothing to do with how Google Search is performing.
What the Raise Is Made Of
The $84.75 billion came together in three parts. Underwritten public offerings brought in $30 billion, split between common stock and a new mandatory convertible preferred stock that turns into shares later. A separate market program will add up to $40 billion in shares sold gradually starting in the third quarter of 2026. And the remaining $10 billion came through a private placement, with Berkshire Hathaway buying directly from Alphabet.
Berkshire’s $10 billion purchase was arranged by Greg Abel, who took over as Berkshire’s chief executive in January 2026 after Warren Buffett stepped back. The purchase builds on a stake Berkshire had already been accumulating since late 2025. Buffett had previously said he wished he had bought into Google sooner, and Abel’s willingness to commit this much, this early in his tenure, points to confidence in where Alphabet is headed.
The Spending Behind the Raise
Alphabet’s AI investment has been climbing faster than its profits can absorb. Spending on technical infrastructure jumped to $91.4 billion in 2025 from $52.5 billion the year before. For 2026, Alphabet expects to spend between $180 billion and $190 billion, mostly on data centers, custom chips, and networking gear to run its Gemini models.
The company has also said customer demand for Google Cloud’s AI computing capacity is currently outpacing what it can supply. The contracted backlog for the cloud business reached $460 billion in the first quarter of 2026, nearly double the previous quarter.
A Shift Away From Buybacks
This raise reverses a pattern Alphabet has followed for years. Since 2016, the company has spent more than $346 billion buying back its own shares, cutting the total share count by roughly 13% from its 2019 peak.
Now this new stock issuance moves in the opposite direction, adding shares rather than removing them.
The Bigger Picture
Alphabet’s chief financial officer, Anat Ashkenazi, told investors in April that 2027 spending will rise significantly above 2026 levels, with reports putting the figure as high as $300 billion. Alphabet has pointed to efficiency gains too, saying it cut the cost of running Gemini by 78% over 2025 through infrastructure and software improvements.
Building AI infrastructure now costs more than Alphabet’s profits alone can cover, even as revenue keeps growing.
