Alphabet's Record Profit Is Mostly On Paper, Not Real Cash

Alphabet's Q2 2026 profit was roughly $112 billion, per Fortune (July 22). About $99 billion — over two-thirds — came from rising valuations of its stakes in Anthropic and SpaceX, private companies that don't trade publicly. Their values are set by dealmakers and appraisers, not daily markets. If those values drop, the same accounting could show losses.