Alphabet Falls 12.64% as Investors Demand AI Cash Returns

The significance here is the shift in the market's test for AI spending: capital expenditure overtaking operating cash flow turns a demand story into a funding and payback question, and the rotation into Eli Lilly shows capital moving toward visible earnings rather than infrastructure promises. This affects hyperscalers carrying heavy AI buildouts and the suppliers whose order books depend on that spending. Whether free cash flow pressure at this scale becomes a recurring pattern across the sector, and how long the rotation toward defensive growth lasts, is the open question.