Alphabet, Amazon, Nvidia, Microsoft Book Over $160 Billion in AI Equity Gains

US technology giants recorded more than $160 billion (approximately RMB 1 trillion) in equity investment valuation gains in their latest quarterly earnings. Alphabet, Amazon, Nvidia, and Microsoft all saw pretax profits boosted by a sharp rise in "other income" on their books, primarily reflecting the increased valuation of equity stakes in other leading AI companies. Several large hyperscale cloud providers posted record pretax profits, but for some companies the profit growth was driven mainly by the appreciation of held corporate stakes rather than new business or actual cash generation.

Under accounting rules, companies must recognize changes in the value of equity investments in profit or loss at the end of each quarter. In 2026, equity investment gains at big tech firms grew further as SpaceX prepared for its public listing. Both Alphabet and Nvidia hold stakes in SpaceX; before the listing, SpaceX acquired Elon Musk's xAI, making orbital AI data centers a key selling point in its IPO narrative, which significantly boosted the value of existing investors' holdings. In the latest quarter, "other income" contributed more than twice the roughly $69 billion it added to tech giants' profits in the prior quarter.

In company filings for the three months ended June 30, Alphabet, Google's parent, saw "other income" more than double from the previous quarter to $97.9 billion. Amazon's "other income" rose more than threefold to $53.4 billion. Nvidia, which disclosed a stake of nearly 123 million SpaceX shares at the end of June, recorded $7.7 billion in "other income" for the three months ended July 31, down from the prior quarter, when it booked a large gain from the appreciation of its Intel stake.