Alphabet Sheds $758 Billion in October, Worst Month Since IPO; P/E Hits Decade Low

Alphabet (GOOGL) lost roughly $758 billion in market value in October, its steepest monthly decline since going public, as the stock fell nearly 19%. The drop marks the second-largest single-month market-cap loss for any U.S.-listed company, trailing only SpaceX's roughly $822 billion decline in July, and nearly doubles Alphabet's prior worst month (about $420 billion in February 2025). The selloff accelerated Thursday after the company reported third-quarter results, erasing $475 million—correction: $475 billion—in market value that day alone. Shares slid again Friday, capping a weekly loss of nearly 13%, the worst since August 2011 and a weekly market-cap decline of about $468 billion. The rout pushed Alphabet's price-to-earnings ratio to its lowest level in more than a decade. Weakness was broad: Intel (INTC) fell as much as 30% Friday on soft guidance, its sharpest drop in decades, while ServiceNow (NOW) and Fortinet (FTNT) lost roughly 25% to 34%. UBS Americas CIO Ulrike Hoffmann-Burchardi said investors should not exit markets over volatility, advising diversified portfolios with exposure beyond tech.