Apple Just Made Twice as Much Free Cash as Microsoft, Meta, Alphabet and Amazon Combined

Image source: Unsplash

Apple (AAPL) just had the biggest cash year in its history, and it didn't need to build a fleet of AI data centers to get there.

The iPhone maker generated about $136 billion in free cash flow — the cash left over after running the business and paying for buildings and equipment — in its fiscal year ended in September, according to its results released Monday. That's up about 38% from a year earlier and well above its previous record of about $111 billion in 2022.

It's also roughly twice what Microsoft (MSFT), Meta (META), Alphabet (GOOGL) and Amazon (AMZN) made combined over their latest four quarters, according to Yahoo Finance calculations.

Those four companies spent more than $600 billion on capital expenditures over the past four quarters, much of it on AI chips and the data centers to house them. Apple spent about $9 billion in its fiscal year. That's down nearly 30% from a year earlier.

That bill is now showing up in their cash. Amazon has burned through about $42 billion over the past year, a record. Alphabet's free cash flow turned negative in the third quarter, and the stock just had its worst month ever. Meta's went negative for the first time since 2012. Yahoo Finance reports.

💻 Harmonic Price Target Lowered to $13 From $15 at Jefferies
Jefferies lowered its price target on Harmonic (HLIT) to $13 from $15. The company recently held its third-quarter 2026 earnings conference call, led by President and CEO Nimrod Ben-Natan and CFO Walter Jankovic, to discuss its financial results and outlook. StockAnalysis reports.

🧩 Adeia Cuts FY26 Revenue View to $375M-$415M From $395M-$432M. Stock Slides in Premarket
Adeia Inc. (NASDAQ: ADEA) announced its financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2026, and lowered its FY26 revenue outlook to $375 million–$415 million from $395 million–$432 million.

CEO Dipti Vachani highlighted strong deal activity during the quarter, with eight licensing agreements signed across pay-TV, consumer electronics, e-commerce, and social media. These included significant renewals with longtime customers Charter and TCL, as well as four new customers.

Vachani also reaffirmed the company's long-term annual revenue outlook of $600 million, citing opportunities driven by AI innovation in media and semiconductors. GlobeNewswire reports.

🧠 Why Is Palantir Technologies Stock Falling Tuesday?
Palantir Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: PLTR) stock fell more than 8% in Tuesday’s premarket trading despite stronger-than-expected third-quarter earnings and an upbeat outlook.

Investors focused on slowing contract growth and the company’s steep valuation, raising questions about whether its AI-driven momentum can continue.

The decline came as Nasdaq futures gained 0.39%, while S&P 500 futures slipped 0.05%.

Palantir reported third-quarter revenue of $2.31 billion, beating Wall Street’s $2.18 billion estimate. Adjusted earnings of 44 cents per share also topped the 41-cent consensus. Benzinga reports.

⚙️ Why Is Fabrinet Stock Soaring Tuesday?
Fabrinet (NYSE: FN) stock rose in premarket trading Tuesday after the company reported better-than-expected fiscal first-quarter results Monday and issued strong second-quarter guidance.

Fabrinet reported fiscal first-quarter revenue of $1.474 billion, up about 51% year over year and above Wall Street’s estimate of $1.403 billion.

Adjusted earnings rose to $4.34 per share, beating the analyst estimate of $4.19. Non-GAAP gross margin was 12.1%, while operating margin reached 10.8%.

The company reported its 14th consecutive quarter of revenue growth and its seventh straight quarter of accelerating growth.

Fabrinet’s board authorized an additional $103 million in share repurchases, bringing the program’s aggregate authorization to $637.3 million. The company said $200 million remains available for repurchases. Benzinga reports.

🧪 Why Aehr Test Systems Shares Are Trading Higher by Over 15%
Shares of Aehr Test Systems (NASDAQ: AEHR) rose sharply in premarket trading after the company reported better-than-expected first-quarter financial results and raised its FY27 sales guidance above estimates.

Aehr Test Systems reported quarterly earnings of 28 cents per share, which beat the analyst consensus estimate of 11 cents by 154.55%, per Benzinga Pro data. Quarterly revenue came in at $33.01 million, which easily beat the Street's estimate of $27.07 million and was up from $10.97 million in the same period last year.

Aehr Test Systems shares jumped 15.2% to $59.30 in premarket. Benzinga reports.

(All pricing and percent gains are based on Early Pre-Market from 4:00 AM to 7:00 AM ET). Stock Analysis reports.

1) RDAC: Rising Dragon Acquisition Corp.
Total gain: +114.12%

2) BLZE: Backblaze, Inc.
Total gain: +34.86%

3) EHGO: Eshallgo Inc.
Total gain: +18.85%

4) BRAI: Braiin Limited
Total gain: +18.40%

5) HLIT: Harmonic Inc.
Total gain: +16.39%

The closing price of the top three market percent gainers trading near or above $2 on Nov 2.

(All pricing and percent gains are based on regular market trading hours from 9:30 AM to 4:00 PM ET). Stock Analysis reports.

1) VCIG: VCI Global Limited
Total gain: +168.42%

The stock appeared to be moving on no notable news.

2) CLRO: ClearOne, Inc.
Total gain: +65.69%

The stock appeared to be moving on no notable news.

3) MF: MindForge Inc.
Total gain: +37.60%

The stock appeared to be moving on no notable news.

(Estimate and Actual numbers represent Earnings Per Share in US Dollars)

NCDL

Nuveen Churchill Direct

Q3 2026

Before Market Open

Estimate: 0.370

Actual: 0.380

ALKS

Alkermes

Q3 2026

Before Market Open

Estimate: 0.180

Actual: 0.090

BEAM

Beam Therapeutics

Q3 2026

Before Market Open

Estimate: -1.170

Actual: -1.280

Time (ET) / Report / Period

• 10:00 AM / Job Openings & Labor Turnover Survey / Sep
• 10:00 AM / Factory Orders / Sep

“The most important quality for an investor is temperament, not intellect.”

— Warren Buffett

Sourced in: Buffett's remarks, discussed by Rutgers Business School in Business Insight, 2021

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