See what surprised the owner of Google’s balance sheet, according to Itaú BBA

THE Alphabetowner ofGoogle (GOOG;GOOGL)published its results for the first quarter of 2026 (1Q26) last Wednesday night (29), a report that caught the attention of investors once again.

For analysts of Itaú BBAthe results were “impressive”, “demonstrating confidence that capex is being well allocated”, write the analysts, in reference to the high spending on infrastructure (capex) of technology companies.

“Although increased depreciation and margin compression in products related to artificial intelligence (AI) remain concerns, the operating margin increased by four percentage points in the quarterly comparison”, write Stephano Gabriel, Bárbara Soares, Maria Clara Infantozzi and Leonardo Cintra.

Fine-toothed comb on Alphabet’s (Google) balance sheet

According to analysts, capex for the quarter — which was US$37 billion — should accelerate in the coming periods.

“The administration has revised upwards the guidance capex (projections) for the year 2026, bringing it to the range of US$ 180 billion to US$ 190 billion (compared to US$ 175 billion to US$ 185 billion previously)”, they write.

Despite the positive cash flow this quarter — with the generation of US$10 billion in free cash flow (9% margin) — the year should end with positive accumulated cash flow, although significantly lower than in previous years.

For next year, another relevant increase in Capex is expected, in line with accelerated growth trends. In a note, Alphabet reinforced that it maintains a strict focus on ROIC (return on invested capital). The company still operates with a consolidated ROIC of over 30%.

Additionally, this quarter’s net income and EPS were driven by a material, non-recurring gain: an unrealized accounting adjustment of approximately US$37 billion in participation in Anthropicfollowing its most recent round of valuation.