AI Cloud Giants Report Strong Q1 Earnings Driven by 'Other Income'

AI cloud service providers have reported robust first-quarter earnings, according to the Financial Times. However, a significant portion of these earnings is attributed to a unique item on their income statements: 'other income.' Alphabet recorded $37.7 billion in 'other income' in the first three months of this year, accounting for more than half of its net profit during the same period. Microsoft reported $942 million in 'other income' for the first quarter, with this item contributing a total of $7.2 billion over the past nine months. Oracle did not disclose any 'other income,' while Meta reported a loss of $1.1 billion. 'Other income' refers to gains and losses from changes in the valuation of large holdings in unlisted companies, such as OpenAI and Anthropic. Alphabet is the largest investor in Anthropic, with Amazon also being a major investor. According to Goldman Sachs analysts, the earnings growth of AI cloud giants this quarter was significantly driven by extraordinary contributions from equity investments in unlisted companies. Alphabet and Amazon together recorded $53 billion in 'other income' in the first quarter of 2026, accounting for nearly 60% of their combined profits and 34% of the total profits of the five largest AI cloud providers, which amounted to $155 billion. This marks the highest proportion in at least the past decade, highlighting the almost absurd interdependence that has developed within the AI technology sector.