Alphabet jumps as AI-driven spending fuels cloud revenue surge

Alphabet shares rose nearly 3% before the bell on Thursday as the Google parent’s earnings underscored a key message to investors: AI spending is climbing, but so are the returns.

The tech giant has raised its 2025 capital spending forecast by $10 billion to $85 billion and signaled even higher outlay next year, stepping up efforts to meet soaring cloud demand and stay competitive in Silicon Valley’s escalating AI race.

Its cloud-computing unit delivered an almost 32% jump in second-quarter revenue, surpassing expectations, as investments in in-house…