Is Alphabet Stock a Buy After Its Post-Earnings Drop?

Shares of Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL)(NASDAQ:GOOG) slid around 10% in after-hours trading on Wednesday, Oct. 28, after the Google parent released its third-quarter results. The sell-off came even though revenue grew 25% year over year to $127.6 billion and Google Cloud's revenue more than doubled.

But two other numbers looked worse. Earnings per share slid to $2.12 from $2.87 a year before. And free cash flow was negative for the second straight quarter, as capital spending rose to $51.4 billion -- over twice the year-ago total.

The drop puts the stock near $293 as I write, about 27% off its record close of $402.62 on May 13. I think the earnings decline looks worse than it is, but the cash flow is worth a closer look.

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