$99 Billion of Alphabet's Record Q2 Profit Is Paper, Not Cash

Alphabet's Q2 2026 profit was roughly $112 billion, per Fortune (July 22). About $99 billion — over two-thirds — came from unrealized mark-to-market gains on its Anthropic and SpaceX stakes, not operating cash flows. These are private companies whose valuations are set by financing rounds and appraisals, not daily trading. The same accounting could produce losses if those marks fall.