Alphabet reported $132.2 billion in net income for FY2025 — a record. But the 10-K reveals $149.1 billion in contractually locked purchase commitments, $24.1 billion in unrealized equity gains inflating headline growth, and a tax timing benefit that boosted cash flow by $13.5 billion. Adjusted earnings grew 15.6%, not 32%, and free cash flow was flat. The investment question: can Google Cloud's 956-basis-point margin expansion convert the largest corporate infrastructure buildout in history into returns?
AI infrastructure spending is approaching $500B annually across hyperscalers alone. Our research library covers capex efficiency metrics, depreciation manipulation detection, concentration risk screening, nuclear power for data centers, and supply chain analysis—everything you need to evaluate AI infrastructure investments.
Learn how to monitor $370B in AI infrastructure spending quarterly with a 3-metric framework. Track capex/revenue trends, depreciation manipulation signals, and growth alignment across Google, Microsoft, Amazon & Meta. Updated December 2025 with Meta's $600B commitment and Michael Burry's depreciation thesis.
Michael Burry warns Big Tech will understate depreciation by $176B through 2028. Amazon is taking a contrarian approach—shortening useful lives and accepting a $700M profit hit while peers extend to boost earnings. Learn how to screen for earnings quality using the capex/depreciation ratio.