Big Tech profits rise $160B from gains on AI company stakes

Alphabet, Amazon, Nvidia, and Microsoft collectively booked more than $160 billion in unrealized gains during the second quarter of 2026, all from the rising valuations of their stakes in private AI companies. That figure more than doubled from roughly $69 billion the prior quarter. The gains, classified as “other income” on financial statements, are technically real under current accounting rules. But they represent paper wealth, not cash. Where the money came from (on paper) Alphabet led the pack with $97.9 billion in other income for the quarter ending June 30, 2026. That figure more than doubled from the previous quarter, driven by surging valuations of companies it has backed in the AI space. Amazon’s other income hit $53.4 billion, more than tripling the prior quarter’s total. The largest single driver appears to be SpaceX, which went public in June 2026 at a market valuation of $1.77 trillion. Nvidia alone held nearly 123 million shares in SpaceX as of June 30, meaning the IPO crystallized an enormous mark-to-market gain on its balance sheet. Anthropic’s valuation reportedly climbed to approximately $965 billion during the same period. Accounting rules meet AI hype Under cur...