Alphabet lifts capex guidance to $93 billion as AI demand strains cloud infrastructure

Core Insights - The company's AI initiatives are showing significant positive results, particularly in its search segment, which is crucial for revenue generation [1] - The chatbot Gemini has reached 650 million monthly active users, indicating strong competition with ChatGPT, which has 800 million weekly users [2] - Cloud services are performing well, exceeding estimates due to new AI partnerships with Meta and OpenAI [2] Financial Performance - The company reported an adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $310, surpassing the expected $233 [4] - Capital expenditures (Capex) are projected to reach $93 billion at the high end, reflecting the company's efforts to enhance infrastructure and remain competitive [3] - The backlog for future cloud revenue is still behind competitors like Microsoft, Amazon, and Oracle, but recent deals, such as with Anthropic, may positively impact future performance [3]