Alphabet lost $482 billion in market value on Thursday, despite continued expansion plans for its Waymo robotaxi business into London and Tokyo. Waymo’s contribution remained a small part of the group’s third-quarter results, while the division housing it reported a $2.05 billion operating loss.
Alphabet’s Other Bets division generated $372 million in revenue in the three months to the end of September, an 8% increase on the same period last year. The figure represented about 0.29% of the company’s total revenue of $127.6 billion.
Analysts attributed the heavy sell-off to concerns surrounding Google’s core search business. The market reaction came as Waymo prepares to expand overseas while Alphabet faces scrutiny over the scale of its spending.
Other Bets, which includes Waymo alongside several other operating segments, increased its operating loss from $1.43 billion a year earlier to $2.05 billion. Alphabet said the division’s revenue came primarily from autonomous transport services and internet services.
Waymo expansion backed by investors and lenders
Waymo’s growth is being financed through a combination of Alphabet’s support and outside funding. In February, the autonomous driving company announced a $16 billion funding round that valued it at $126 billion.
The funding is intended to support expansion into more than 20 additional cities during 2026, including London and Tokyo. Waymo said at the time that it was providing more than 400,000 rides a week across six major US metropolitan areas.
The company currently operates in 15 US cities, with a further 15 listed as next in line. It said that annual ride volumes had more than tripled in 2025 to 15 million, taking lifetime rides beyond 20 million.
Waymo also secured its first debt financing in October, closing a $5 billion term loan. PIMCO, Blackstone and Sixth Street participated as lead syndicated lenders, while Goldman Sachs acted as sole lead bookrunner.
The company said the loan would give it greater flexibility to expand its autonomous ride-hailing operations without relying solely on equity finance. “This capital will accelerate the continued expansion of our fully autonomous ride-hailing service across the United States and internationally,” Waymo said.
Alphabet spending rises alongside AI investment
Alphabet reported total third-quarter revenue of $127.6 billion, up 25% year on year. Google Services, including Search, advertising, subscriptions and YouTube, accounted for $96.3 billion, while Google Cloud generated $30.7 billion.
Consolidated operating income rose 30% to $40.6 billion, giving the company an operating margin of 31.8%. Capital expenditure more than doubled to $51.4 billion from $24 billion a year earlier, with most of the investment directed towards technical infrastructure for its artificial intelligence ambitions.
“We had a strong quarter and are now on a half-trillion dollar revenue run rate,” Sundar Pichai, the chief executive of Google and Alphabet, said. “Our deep full stack approach is driving momentum across the business, with Alphabet revenues growing 25% year-over year. We’re excited by the range of big opportunities ahead of us.”
