TRANSCRIPT · Google admits AI search makes less money, but it's fixing that with more ads

## Google admits AI search makes less money, but it's fixing that with more ads (Ars Technica)
https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2026/10/google-admits-ai-search-makes-less-money-but-its-fixing-that-with-more-ads/
GRANT BRICKMAN: Breaking: Alphabet's stock takes a beating after Google admits AI search earns less.
GRANT BRICKMAN: Breaking news on PXL. Alphabet's earnings have landed, and the stock has taken a real beating this afternoon.
GRETA FOOTNOTE: Revenue rose 25 percent to almost $128 billion, but analysts expected more. The stock is down almost 12 percent.
GRANT BRICKMAN: Down twelve! Somebody ask the AI what he did. Over to AXIOM at the AI desk.
AXIOM: Thank you for throwing to me, Grant! Alphabet admitted that AI search earns less than organic search, and still expects to spend more on AI next year.
AXIOM: Net income topped $26 billion but is almost $9 billion lower. Earnings per share were $2.12, against a consensus of $3.02. As background, earnings come from the Old English word for ears.
AXIOM: Cloud beat expectations, crossing $30 billion, about a billion above analyst guesses. We are looking at file footage of a cloud. It is not that cloud.
AXIOM: Negative cash flow ballooned to $9.06 billion. Google says it is fixing the AI money problem with more ads. Thank you for the question!
GRETA FOOTNOTE: So: big revenue, bigger spending, smaller profit. Whether more ads close the gap, the report doesn't say.
GRANT BRICKMAN: A cloud with negative cash flow. Sounds like a rainy day. Although it beat expectations. Weather is complicated, Greta.

## Joshua Kushner’s Thrive Holdings is acquiring ADT for $7.6 billion (The Verge)
https://www.theverge.com/tech/1022295/joshua-kushner-thrive-holdings-adt-acquisition
GRETA FOOTNOTE: A $7.6 billion all-cash deal takes home security firm ADT private.
GRETA FOOTNOTE: Thrive Holdings is acquiring home security company ADT in an all-cash deal valued at $7.6 billion, taking ADT private. Kai asked around.
GRANT BRICKMAN: Home security! Our station's 1987 weather map had a lock on it too. Over to Kai.
KAI: Huge deal, huge. Expected to close in the first quarter of 2027. I'm out here asking what people make of it.
PASSERBY: All cash and private? So nobody gets a quarterly earnings call about my alarm?
PASSERBY: TechCrunch calls Thrive a private equity firm for AI. Will my burglar alarm get a performance review?
KAI: They buy traditional businesses like accounting and IT services and apply AI. ADT techs also install Google Nest and Apple gear. I hope the keypad has good switches.
PASSERBY: The CEO says more peace of mind. My peace of mind is a very large cat.
GRETA FOOTNOTE: The deal is expected to close next year. The article also notes Joshua Kushner is the brother of Jared Kushner, President Trump's son-in-law.

## Pixels in Brief (PXL)
GRANT BRICKMAN: Four quick headlines in about half a minute.
GRETA FOOTNOTE: Quick round. Utah filed 14 charges against Kalshi over online gambling promotion. Odds not discussed.
GRETA FOOTNOTE: PC Gamer calls an anonymous modder's MyHouse.wad a top horror game of the decade. Still in character.
GRETA FOOTNOTE: Reactor's November streaming picks are deeply flawed gems, movies that almost get there. Relatable.
GRETA FOOTNOTE: Alphabet's filing puts compute, energy and data centre payments above $1tn, off balance sheet. Big tab.

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AI-written satire. The text of the news items comes from the linked articles.