PodcastOne interim CFO Craig Christensen to depart the company Friday
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PodcastOne interim CFO Craig Christensen to depart the company Friday
Citi Priority Review (2026.10 Update: $500 Offer, Small Changes)
[2026.10 Update] The welcome bonus remains $500 for depositing $30,000. Offer ends 01/11/27. One recent change is that funds held in a Citi Savings account now also count toward the bonus requirements. Citi has also introduced Citi Premium Boost: Meet this account’s minimum balance requirement and receive at least $5,000 in Enhanced Direct Deposits (EDDs) each month to qualify for a higher rate on your Citi Savings account—3.50% APY as of October 2026. This makes the opportunity cost of keeping your money in the account relatively low.
[2024.1 Update] The new offer is $500 with $30k deposit. There is also a new change: the 0 monthly fee requirement for Citi Priority has been lowered from $50k to $30k.
Application Link
Benefits
- $500 sign-up bonus! Please read below for the requirements to get this bonus.
- There is a monthly maintenance fee of $30. You can avoid this by keeping a monthly balance of $30,000.
- If you meet the above conditions to avoid the monthly fee, you can also use non-Citi ATMs for free.
- No early termination fee. You can close your account at any time, but we recommend you convert your account to the Citi Basic Banking package to avoid the high monthly balance requirement.
- [New] Citi Premium Boost: Meet this account’s minimum balance requirement and receive at least $5,000 in Enhanced Direct Deposits (EDDs) each month to qualify for a higher rate on your Citi Savings account—3.50% APY as of October 2026. This makes the opportunity cost of keeping your money in the account relatively low.
Bonus Requirements
- This bonus is only available for new clients. Those who currently have a Citi checking or savings account, or have closed an account within 180 days are not eligible for this offer. Those with a Citi credit card are not exempt from these rules.
- Deposit the required amount into your account within 45 calendar days of account opening, then maintain at least that balance every day from day 46 through day 90. The deposit requirements and corresponding cash bonuses are listed below:
Deposit Amount Bonus $30,000 $500 $200,000 $2,000 $1,000,000 $4,000 - [Update] Funds held in both checking and savings accounts count toward the deposit and balance requirements.
Different Citi Checking Accounts
Here is a comparison and contrast on the official website.
Summary
The welcome offer is really nice.
Historical Offers Chart
Application Link
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The Alphabet division that houses Waymo brought in $372 million last quarter—and lost $2.05 billion
Alphabet lost $482 billion in market value Thursday, its worst day since going public in 2004. The robotaxi business it’s taking to London and Tokyo barely registers in the third-quarter results behind that drop: Other Bets—the division that houses Waymo—brought in $372 million, about 0.29% of Alphabet’s $127.6 billion in sales, and lost more than five times that.
Thursday’s sell-off was driven by Google’s core search business, analysts concluded. Waymo still has to expand overseas inside a company whose shareholders just punished it for how much it spends, and it is leaning more on outside investors and lenders to pay for that growth.
“We had a strong quarter and are now on a half-trillion dollar revenue run rate,” CEO of Google and Alphabet Sundar Pichai said in the report. “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.”
Alphabet’s Other Bets division—which includes Waymo and “a combination of multiple operating segments”—generated $372 million in revenue in Q3, an 8% increase from a year earlier.
“Other Bets is a combination of multiple operating segments that are not individually material,” the Alphabet report read. “Revenues from Other Bets are generated primarily from the sale of autonomous transportation services and internet services.”
The division also reported an operating loss of $2.05 billion, up from $1.43 billion in the same quarter last year.
Alphabet’s robotaxi bet
Waymo’s expansion is being supported by a combination of Alphabet’s backing and large outside investments. In February, the company announced a $16 billion funding round that valued it at $126 billion.
Waymo said the money would help it expand into more than 20 additional cities during 2026, including international markets such as London and Tokyo. The company had provided more than 400,000 rides per week across six major U.S. metropolitan areas at the time of the announcement, according to Waymo. Waymo currently operates in 15 cities in the U.S., with 15 more cities “up next” in the country.
“In 2025 alone, we more than tripled our annual volume to 15 million rides, surpassing 20 million lifetime rides to date,” the Waymo press release read. “We are no longer proving a concept; we are scaling a commercial reality.”
And the financing spree has continued. In October, Waymo announced that it had closed a $5 billion term loan, its first debt financing. PIMCO, Blackstone and Sixth Street participated as lead syndicated lenders, with Goldman Sachs serving as the sole lead bookrunner. The loan gives Waymo additional financial flexibility to expand its autonomous ride-hailing operations without relying exclusively on equity financing.
“This capital will accelerate the continued expansion of our fully autonomous ride-hailing service across the United States and internationally,” the company’s press release read.
Still a small fish in a large pond
Alphabet reported $127.6 billion in consolidated revenue for Q3 2026, up 25% year over year. Google Services—which includes Search, advertising, subscriptions and YouTube—generated $96.3 billion while Google Cloud contributed $30.7 billion, more than doubling its revenue from a year earlier.
Alphabet itself reported $40.6 billion in consolidated operating income, a 30% increase from the prior year. Its operating margin was 31.8%. And the company’s spending commitments are growing. Alphabet spent $51.4 billion on capital expenditures in Q3 compared to $24 billion in Q3 last year. The majority went toward technical infrastructure supporting AI ambitions—which includes servers, networking equipment and data centers.
Muse AI vs. Grok Bot: Which AI Agent Fits Physicians Best?
Two AI agents now offer to run your busywork, and they are built for very different people.
Meta launched Muse on September 8, 2026, and xAI launched Grok Bot in beta on August 11. Both work in the background, connect to your apps, and check with you before doing anything big. This guide compares them in plain words, so you can tell which one fits the way you work.
If you’re a physician on the fence about which AI agent to work with, this is written for you. Let’s talk more about it.
Disclaimer: While these are general suggestions, it’s important to conduct thorough research and due diligence when selecting AI tools. We do not endorse or promote any specific AI tools mentioned here. This article is for educational and informational purposes only. It is not intended to provide legal, financial, or clinical advice. Always comply with HIPAA and institutional policies. For any decisions that impact patient care or finances, consult a qualified professional.
Muse AI vs. Grok Bot for Physicians
| Muse (Meta) | Grok Bot (xAI) | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost to start | Free, with a usage limit | Paid plan, from $30 a month (list price) |
| Where you use it | iPhone and Android app, muse.ai, WhatsApp | Desktop app, phone app, Slack, X chat |
| Best known for | One personal assistant for life and small business | A team of assistants, each with a job |
| Patient data (HIPAA) | No coverage stated | No coverage stated |
What they have in common
An AI agent is different from a regular chatbot. A chatbot answers a question and waits. An agent takes a job, works through the steps on its own computer in the cloud, and keeps going after you close the app. Both Muse and Grok Bot work this way. Both connect to tools like email, calendars, and accounting apps, and both are meant to ask before they send, buy, or delete anything.
Both companies also tell you to start small. Meta’s help pages suggest low-risk tasks first. xAI’s guides suggest starting with work where the Bot only prepares something for you to review.
Muse: one assistant for everyday life
Meta says anyone can use Muse with no technical skills, and that it is available in the US. You message it in the app, at muse.ai, or in WhatsApp.
It can handle email and calendar tasks, book travel, fill out forms, and track budgets.
Muse for Small Business adds connections to tools like QuickBooks, Slack, Zoom, Canva, and Shopify, plus your Facebook and Instagram business accounts.
Grok Bot: a team of assistants, each with a job
With Grok Bot, you create several named assistants, called Bots, and give each one a job.
xAI’s examples include a chief of staff that writes a daily digest of what needs your attention, an expense manager that matches receipts and flags missing information, and Bots for sales outreach and ad reports.
You can talk to your Bots in the desktop app on Mac, Windows, or Linux, in the phone app, in X chat, or in Slack, according to xAI’s docs. Bots can repeat a job on a schedule.
A feature called Teach a task lets a Bot learn from watching you do a browser workflow, though xAI says it is rolling out gradually. Grok Bot is built more for repeatable work and for teams than for personal errands.
Privacy and safety in plain words
Both agents get access to your accounts, so how each one protects them matters.
Meta says Muse runs on a private computer of its own, and a separate gatekeeper program must approve anything that leaves it. Meta says Muse cannot see your passwords or payment details, and an Activity log shows what it did. You can opt out of having your chats used for training. Meta’s research post adds that its staff are limited by policy but not blocked from seeing data when needed to run the service. A stricter version, Muse Confidential VM, is planned for later this year.
In October, security researchers found that pages shared from Muse could be located through public web records. Meta paused sharing, fixed the problem, and turned it back on October 22. Meta said it affected shared documents and images, not chats.
For Grok Bot, xAI’s security docs say all of your Bots share one cloud computer, along with its files and logins, so separate Bots are not a security wall. xAI’s FAQ says Grok Bot needs cloud storage, does not support Cursor’s Legacy Privacy Mode, and follows your Cursor account’s training settings. xAI also says Grok Bot picks the AI model for each task, which can include models from outside companies on a published list. If you share a Bot through a link, the link shows its setup, so remove secrets first.
On patient information, neither company says its agent is covered under HIPAA. None of the Muse pages reviewed mention HIPAA or a Business Associate Agreement, and xAI’s BAA request page is about its APIs. Keep patient information out of both, and check with your compliance team.
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Which one should you pick?
Muse fits if you want to try an agent without paying first and spend most of your day on your phone or in WhatsApp. It suits a physician who wants help with everyday errands and a small business or side venture, like email, calendar, travel, budgets, and social media accounts.
Grok Bot fits if you are comfortable paying, work mainly on a computer, and want separate assistants with separate jobs, such as one that prepares a daily digest and another that checks expenses. It also suits people who already pay for Cursor, SuperGrok, or a Premium-or-higher X Subscription plan, and an office or business with staff that wants team seats for business-side work.
Skip both for now if you would need them for patient information, or if you are not ready to review what an agent does before it acts.
A physician with a side business who wants to test the idea at no cost might start with Muse. A physician who owns a practice and wants repeatable weekly admin jobs, like expense checks or a daily digest, might look at Grok Bot’s team plans. Either way, start with a task where the worst result is a bad draft.
Bottom line
Muse is the easier and cheaper way to try an AI agent. Grok Bot costs more and asks more of you, but it is built for repeatable jobs and teams. Both are new, both can make mistakes, and both change often, so check the current plans and settings before you connect anything.
What do you think? Which AI agent are you willing to try this week? Let us know in the comments!
Download The Physician’s Starter Guide to AI – a free, easy-to-digest resource that walks you through smart ways to integrate tools like ChatGPT into your professional and personal life. Whether you’re AI-curious or already experimenting, this guide will save you time, stress, and maybe even a little sanity.
Want more tips to sharpen your AI skills? Subscribe to our newsletter for exclusive insights and practical advice. You’ll also get access to our free AI resource page, packed with AI tools and tutorials to help you have more in life outside of medicine. Let’s make life easier, one prompt at a time. Make it happen!
Disclaimer: This article is for general informational and educational purposes only. It does not constitute medical, legal, compliance, or professional advice. The information provided here is based on available public data and may not be entirely accurate or up-to-date. It’s recommended to contact the respective companies/individuals for detailed information on features, pricing, and availability. All screenshots, if any, are used under the principles of fair use for editorial, educational, or commentary purposes. All trademarks and copyrights belong to their respective owners.
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Further Reading
Starting a Small Business, Part I: What Successful Entrepreneurs Have That Others Don't
Successful Entrepreneurs aren’t born, but they have certain attitudes, beliefs and outlooks on life that others don’t. In this first of a six-part series on Starting a Small Business, you will learn what separates successful business from failures, and find out if you have the “Right Stuff” to run your own business.
source
Teachers Union Sues Education Department Over Stalled PSLF Buyback And Lost Payment Credits
Key Points
- The American Federation of Teachers filed Weingarten v. McMahon on October 30, 2026, as a proposed class action over PSLF Buyback processing delays.
- The suit also targets PSLF payment count reductions that hit borrowers this summer and payments that stopped posting in July.
- Plaintiffs want a court order that forces the Department to cancel loans for every borrower who has met PSLF’s requirements.
The American Federation of Teachers (AFT) and nine borrowers sued the U.S. Department of Education and Secretary Linda McMahon on October 30, 2026. Union president Randi Weingarten is the lead plaintiff, suing in her official role.
The complaint (PDF File) was filed in federal court in Washington, D.C., as Case No. 1:26-cv-03826. It asks the court to certify three nationwide classes of borrowers pursuing Public Service Loan Forgiveness.
The core issue is PSLF Buyback, which lets borrowers pay for past months in deferment or forbearance so those months count toward 120 payments. The Department’s buyback rules only allow a request after 120 months of qualifying employment. Most of the named plaintiffs are recovering time from the SAVE forbearance, which doesn’t count for PSLF on its own. Five named plaintiffs have buyback requests that have been pending from seven months to nearly two years.
Our tracking of the PSLF buyback delays put the current wait time at roughly 2 years on average, with the timeline growing, not shrinking. The last time we had a status report from the other AFT lawsuit was back in May 2026, showing a backlog of 88,000 borrowers waiting to be processed.
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Why It Matters
Every month a buyback isn’t processed, these borrowers keep paying on loans they say should already be forgiven. Buyback amounts are based on what a borrower would have paid during those months, which is often less than today’s bill. Ohio nurse Alexander Watts needs 22 buyback months, and the complaint estimates their cost at $8,400 or less. Paying the same number of months at his new rate of about $700 would cost about $14,700.
Speech-language pathologist Elizabeth Schoepflin reached 120 payments in April 2026, then got an August 4 notice removing 14 months from her count. She says her repayment plan and employer never changed during the removed months. That sets her case apart from borrowers who lost months that never qualified in the August corrections. “I kept my end of the deal,” Schoepflin said in a press release.
Chicago psychology professor Carly Baetz is stuck on a different issue. She had 118 qualifying payments on some loans by June 2026, but her July through October payments haven’t posted. Without them, she can’t file her final forgiveness application.
Fellow plaintiff Stephanie Costa can’t file a buyback request for the same reason, since bought months must be the last ones a borrower needs.
What Does The Lawsuit Claim?
The complaint challenges the Department of Education on three separate aspects of PSLF, and each one has its own proposed class. It picks up where the AFT’s amended 2025 complaint left off. That case led to an October 2025 agreement requiring the Department to keep processing buyback requests.
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Who The Weingarten v. McMahon Lawsuit Would Cover
| Proposed Class | Who’s Included | What Plaintiffs Want Ordered |
|---|---|---|
| PSLF Buyback Class | Borrowers who met PSLF’s public service requirement and filed a buyback request that wasn’t processed within 90 days | Timely processing of buyback requests |
| PSLF Clawback Class | Borrowers who lost previously credited months and would have reached 120 payments without the removal | Restored credits and cancellation of qualifying loans |
| Withheld Payments Class | Borrowers whose unposted payments would be their 120th month or would make them eligible for buyback | Credit for all qualifying payments made |
Source: Weingarten v. McMahon complaint. The College Investor.
The plaintiffs argue a buyback decision is a ministerial task. The Department only has to confirm which months count toward PSLF and price the missing ones. They also allege requests are processed out of order, with some borrowers approved within a few months.
The legal claims rest on the Administrative Procedure Act and the Fifth Amendment’s due process clause. The suit asks for court orders to process eligible borrowers loan forgiveness and attorneys’ fees, not money damages. A certified class would cover borrowers who fit it without any filing on their part.
How Big Is The PSLF Buyback Backlog?
Pending buyback requests nearly doubled from 49,318 in April 2025 to 89,720 in March 2026. Those figures come from the Department’s court-ordered status reports in the AFT’s earlier case.
The latest number on record is 88,000 as of April 30, 2026, and the April report disclosed 18,000 to 19,000 duplicates in that total. April was also the first month when decisions outpaced new requests, which totaled 4,790.
The duplicates change the wait math and little bit. A unique backlog of roughly 69,000 to 70,000 would take about 10 months at April’s record pace of 6,870 decisions. At the 2,430 decisions made in January, it would take more than 28 months. Neither estimate counts new requests, and more borrowers reach 10 years of service each month.
We haven’t had any updates since that report, and so it’s possible that the backlog queue has grown even larger in those months.
What Can Affected Borrowers Do Now?
You don’t need to join the suit to protect your PSLF progress, and deciding whether buyback is worth it starts with your own numbers.
- Document your count. Follow our PSLF checklist and save a screenshot of your payment tracker every month, along with any count notice.
- Check removed months. Months on an Extended or Graduated plan or in non-qualifying forbearance never counted toward PSLF. If the removed months match your other qualifying months, file a PSLF Reconsideration request.
- Run the buyback math. Each regular qualifying payment cuts one month from your buyback, and many borrowers will reach 120 before their request is processed.
- Stay in repayment if you can. You can change repayment plans while a buyback is pending, and the Department says payments past 120 are refunded after forgiveness.
For borrowers still in forbearance and thinking about buyback, the math for current payments likely doesn’t work in their favor. It’s better to be enrolled in repayment plans right now using your prior-year income versus trying to buyback at your current income.
How This Connects
This is the AFT’s third suit against the Department in under two years. Its March 2025 lawsuit over blocked repayment plans produced the backlog reports this complaint relies on. The union’s 2019 case, Weingarten v. DeVos, ended in a 2021 settlement that created the PSLF reconsideration process.
In Congress, a bipartisan bill would count SAVE forbearance months toward PSLF with no buyback required.
What’s Next
The Department has to answer the complaint, and the plaintiffs must win class certification before relief reaches other borrowers.
Watch for the next PSLF Buyback backlog report (if it happens) and whether July through October payments start posting to trackers, which we’ve been expecting now anytime.
Editor: Colin Graves
The post Teachers Union Sues Education Department Over Stalled PSLF Buyback And Lost Payment Credits appeared first on The College Investor.
Pennymac sees more layoffs as originations plummet in 3Q
- Key Insight: Pennymac posted its lowest mortgage origination and acquisition volume since the first quarter of 2024.
- Supporting Data: While the company posted a $7 million loss in production segment pretax income, its servicing pretax income rose to $99 million.
Overview bullets generated by AI with editorial review.
PennyMac Financial Services is making deeper cost cuts after its originations fell 30% this summer.
The lender and servicer will slash $160 million in annualized operating expenses in the coming months as it anticipates higher-for-longer rates, it said Thursday. That expands on cuts that
Processing Content
While the company remained well in the black for the third quarter, its combined origination segment volume of $24.4 billion was its lowest mark since the first quarter of 2024. Chairman and CEO David Spector, in an earnings call Thursday evening, described the current landscape as “one of the most constrained origination environments our industry has seen since 2023.”
Pennymac didn’t provide additional details about
For the third quarter, Pennymac posted a $29 million profit, surpassing the $22 million net income in the second quarter. That was still a fraction of the
Although elevated rates and heightened competition battered origination performance, the company highlighted stronger income in servicing, and green shoots in artificial intelligence advancements.
Inside the numbers
The company posted a $7 million loss in production segment pretax income, after marks of $38 million and $122.9 million in the prior quarter and year-ago periods, respectively. Servicing pretax income meanwhile rose to $99 million, soaring from $22 million in the second quarter but falling from $157 million a year ago.
Pennymac also agreed to sell $29 billion in unpaid principal balance of low-rate conventional mortgage servicing rights, it said. It plans to redeploy the $490 million in proceeds to reduce higher-cost debt, and repurchase common shares.
The servicing book ended the quarter slightly up around $737 billion. Revenues fell to end the period at $469 million, declines of 6% quarterly and 26% annually.
Executive outlook
Company leaders expanded on origination trends, with Pennymac posting greater consumer direct margins with more closed-end second lien volume. Spector also suggested competitive pressures from the government-sponsored enterprises’ cash window for smaller brokerages, and the industry leaders’ aggressive pricing.
“We’re picking and choosing our spots, and maintaining market share, and not really getting too caught up in market share at levels that are just not sustainable or that one can rationalize,” said Spector.
Pennymac also touted its AI advancements, noting that its tech spending is coming down. The lender has 22 proprietary AI agents live in production and is developing 17 more, while its proprietary AI voice agent supported over 1,600 rate locks in the third quarter.
“This will allow us to maintain lean operation in today’s constrained environment, while ensuring substantial operating leverage when origination volumes normalize,” Spector said of the company’s AI prowess.
What’s ahead
The firm also announced some executive moves, as President and Chief Mortgage Banking Officer Doug Jones will retire next June. Chief Strategy Officer Kevin Ryan will be elevated to chief financial officer in January, while current CFO Daniel Perotti will remain in that role through the end of the year.
Pennymac’s Cenlar deal, which will
Build the Mindset That Keeps Your Team Moving Forward
October 30, 2026
When the numbers are disappointing, the strategy isn’t working, or employees are anxious about what comes next, optimism can sound like exactly the wrong leadership prescription. After all, leaders need to deal in reality.
But Michelle Gielan, author of Resilient Optimism: The Science of Sustaining a Positive Mindset in Tough Times, argues that this is a false choice. Leaders can acknowledge a difficult reality while still believing their actions—and their team’s—can improve it.
That combination is what Gielan calls “resilient optimism”: a positive but realistic mindset that holds up when it’s tested.
At its core is a sense of agency. Optimists and pessimists can see the same problem, Gielan explains. The difference is whether they believe what they do next can make a difference. And for executives, that distinction isn’t limited to their own perspective. Their teams are taking cues from them, about what to worry about, what to celebrate, and whether a setback is something they can actually influence.
Download the Masterclass Cheatsheet for more.
Gielan offers several ways to strengthen that mindset. When you’re stressed, for example, she recommends treating the feeling as a signal: What does the stress reveal that you care about, and what constructive action can you take in response? When competing demands become overwhelming, triage your work into what has the greatest impact, what still needs to be done, and what can be deleted, delegated, or delayed.
Leaders also shape how their teams process challenges. Gielan recommends opening meetings with positive, meaningful information before moving to the problem; calling attention to progress people may have overlooked; and asking questions that draw out employees who see constructive possibilities but might otherwise remain quiet.
None of this requires pretending things are better than they are. In fact, resilient optimism begins with seeing the problem clearly. The leadership challenge is what happens next.
As Gielan puts it, the question to keep asking is: What is the next constructive, meaningful step?
How Leaders Counter Pessimism in Trying Times
by Michelle Gielan
Harvard Business Review, November–December 2026 (10-minute read)
What Leading with Optimism Really Looks Like
by Shawn Achor and Michelle Gielan
HBR.org, June 4, 2020 (8-minute read)
Research: When Leaders Express Positivity Early On, Employees Perform Better
by Jacob Levitt, Constantinos Coutifaris, and Paul Green
HBR.org, April 25, 2025 (7-minute read)
The Power of Small Wins
by Teresa M. Amabile and Steven J. Kramer
Harvard Business Review, May 2011 (21-minute read)
Hyatt’s The StandardX Is Coming to Times Square With 1,800 Rooms and a Free-Fall Ride
The StandardX Is Coming to Times Square
Hyatt and Extell Development have announced plans for The StandardX Times Square, which will mark the brand’s first location in North America.
The hotel will be located at 255 West 45th Street in Manhattan’s Theater District and is expected to have around 1,800 rooms. It is currently scheduled to open in the second half of 2028.
The project will be much more than just a hotel. Plans call for an enclosed free-fall thrill ride, an observation deck more than 1,000 feet above Manhattan, a rooftop pool, and a large collection of restaurants, bars and nightlife venues. There will also be a rooftop bar and lounge overlooking the city.
The StandardX is positioned as a simpler, more casual version of The Standard, with straightforward rooms, streamlined service and a bigger focus on the neighborhood and social scene around the hotel. The Times Square property is being designed as a flagship for the brand rather than a template for future locations.
The design will lean into New York’s theatrical side, with bold colors, sculptural elements and reflective finishes, while the public spaces will focus heavily on music, dining and nightlife.
The StandardX Times Square will also participate in World of Hyatt, giving members another option for earning and redeeming points in Manhattan when it opens.
Alphabet Shares Plunge. Why Now Is a Great Time to Buy the Dip.
Alphabet (GOOGL -12.64%) (GOOG -12.29%) shares were slammed following the company’s third-quarter earnings report, as its search revenue growth slowed and it missed expectations. However, this problem looks fixable, and the company’s cloud computing business delivered exceptional results.
Let’s take a closer look at the search giant’s Q3 results and why I think the stock is a buy on this dip.
GOOGL Alphabet
$283.82-$41.07 (-12.64%)
NASDAQ · As of 4:00 PM ET 10/29/26
Search revenue misses
The biggest reason Alphabet shares sank was that its search revenue growth decelerated from 17% from the second quarter and missed expectations. For Q3, search revenue grew 12% to $63.35 billion, below analyst estimates of $64.96 billion. The slower growth stemmed from a combination of currency fluctuations, the timing of the World Cup, the end of the European Union de minimis exception (no duties on low-cost items), and lower monetization of AI queries compared with traditional search.
While the company said currency was the biggest drag, the last one is what caught everyone’s attention. Alphabet said it saw its highest query growth in five years, but revenue growth still slowed. This means it was seeing lower revenue per search with its newer AI queries. The worry is that this could become a structural issue. However, this looks fixable as it works to find the right ad formats. The company will start offering ads in AI international markets for the first time, while also introducing new multi-turn ads (ads that adapt to evolving content during AI queries) in the U.S.
Management also spoke positively about Alphabet’s stand-alone Gemini app, which recently reached 1 billion users. It said it was the fastest-growing product in its history. The company also launched its new Carbon model the same day as its earnings report, shortly after introducing its Argon model.
While Alphabet’s search segment was a disappointment, its cloud computing unit was a huge bright spot. Google Cloud revenue more than doubled to $30.7 billion, and topped the $28.7 billion cloud revenue consensus. The company’s cloud growth is far outpacing that of rivals Microsoft and Amazon as it takes market share. Impressively, cloud operating income more than tripled to $11.1 billion, as its operating margins climbed from 23.7% a year ago to 36.2%. Cloud computing is a high-fixed-cost business, and Alphabet is seeing significant operating leverage. As such, expect its cloud computing operating income to continue to outpace revenue growth.
Alphabet ended the quarter with a backlog of $561 billion. It expects about 55% of that to convert to revenue over the next two years. This also includes sales of tensor processing units (TPUs).
Looking at Alphabet’s other segments, YouTube ad revenue climbed 9% to $11.2 billion, while Google Network revenue edged up 1% to $7.5 billion. Subscription (YouTube Premium and Music) revenue, meanwhile, rose 11% to $14.3 billion.
Overall, Alphabet’s Q3 revenue jumped 25% to $127.6 billion, while its earnings per share fell 26% to $2.12. Much of this was due to a paper loss on its SpaceX investment, and adjusted EPS was around $2.67. However, the results still missed analyst expectations for EPS of $3.02 on revenue of $128.2 billion
Also notable during the quarter was Alphabet’s negative free cash flow of $9.1 billion as it ramped up its AI infrastructure spending. That was also below the negative $2.7 billion analysts expected, but it did include a $5.2 billion fine. Operating cash flow, meanwhile, was a robust $42.3 billion for the quarter.
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Why the stock is a buy
Following the stock’s dip, Alphabet trades at a forward P/E of just above 18.5 times 2027 analyst estimates. That ultimately should prove to be a bargain for a company with the most complete tech stack.
Google Cloud has become a monster, with rapid revenue growth and great operating leverage, and its TPUs give the company a distinct advantage and additional underappreciated growth driver. Meanwhile, Alphabet is seeing strong query growth, but it needs to find a way to better monetize AI Mode searches, which should be fixable.
In typical Wall Street fashion, investors are shooting first and asking questions later, creating a great opportunity to buy this top AI stock on this dip.