Google Cloud’s contract backlog grew to $560.8 billion from $513.9 billion last quarter, but over a third of that increase is one multiyear deal with Crux AI, a joint venture that Alphabet partly owns with Blackstone, according to Bloomberg. Alphabet has also promised Crux as much as $10 billion in guarantees for its data centers and power, which Synovus Trust portfolio manager Dan Morgan said takes some of the shine off the backlog. Alphabet’s quarterly filing also shows roughly $98.5 billion it could owe under certain conditions, up about $23 billion in three months and separate from the $1 trillion-plus in purchases and leases its CFO cited on the earnings call. Alphabet’s stock fell 13% on Thursday, its worst drop ever, after weak search and ad sales.
