Alphabet 公司表示，其云服务需求正在快速增长，并指出其积压合同（即尚未履行的云合同）有所增加。然而，该季度增长中超过三分之一来自一家该公司部分拥有的合资企业。
Inc. has said demand for its cloud services is increasing at a rapid clip, pointing to growth in its backlog, or cloud contracts it hasn’t yet fulfilled. However, more than a third of that quarterly growth comes from a joint venture the company partly owns.
这一披露出现在周四的一份季度文件中，该文件列示了超出 Alphabet 前一天财报电话会上所讨论范围的人工智能风险敞口。
The revelation appeared in a quarterly filing on Thursday that outlined exposures to artificial intelligence risk that go beyond what Alphabet discussed during its earnings call the previous day.
除了首席财务官 Anat Ashkenazi 在投资者电话会上披露的超过 1 万亿美元的采购承诺、未来租赁及其他义务外，该文件还列出了约 985 亿美元的或有承诺，即在特定条件下公司可能需承担的责任。这比上一季度增加了约 230 亿美元。
Besides the $1 trillion-plus in purchase commitments, future leases and other obligations disclosed by Chief Financial Officer Anat Ashkenazi on an investor call, the filing lists about $98.5 billion in contingent commitments the company could be on the hook for under certain conditions. That’s up roughly $23 billion from one quarter ago.
这些承诺包括担保数据中心租赁付款、为合作伙伴采购电力设备提供担保，以及可能承担从客户手中回购 AI 芯片系统的义务。
These commitments include guaranteeing data center lease payments, backing partners’ purchases of power equipment and a potential obligation to buy back AI chip systems from customers.
Google Cloud 的合同积压额在 9 月底升至 5608 亿美元，高于三个月前的 5139 亿美元。其中，168 亿美元与 Crux AI 签署的一项多年协议相关，该合资企业由 Alphabet 与 Blackstone Inc. 共同组建，文件将其描述为关联方。Alphabet 在该实体中持有少数股权，并承诺提供高达 100 亿美元的数据中心和能源担保以支持其运营。
Google Cloud’s backlog of contracts rose to $560.8 billion at the end of September, from $513.9 billion three months earlier. Of that, $16.8 billion is tied to a multiyear agreement with Crux AI, a venture Alphabet formed with Blackstone Inc. that the filing describes as a related party. Alphabet holds a minority stake in the entity and has pledged up to $10 billion in data center and energy backstops to support it.
该文件还显示出为公司 AI 建设提供资金的核心业务出现紧张迹象。第三季度 Google 搜索的付费点击量增长 8%，低于第二季度的 13%，尽管首席执行官 Sundar Pichai 表示查询增长速度为五年来最快。
The filing also shows signs of strain in the business that funds the company’s AI build-out. Paid clicks on Google Search grew 8% in the third quarter, down from 13% in the second period, even as Chief Executive Officer Sundar Pichai said query growth was the fastest it has been in five years.
在电话会议上，首席商务官菲利普·辛德勒表示，AI模式查询的强劲增长对收入产生了影响，原因是这些查询的“变现能力较低”——不过他指出，公司持乐观态度，并正在扩大AI模式中的广告投放，包括首次拓展至国际市场。公司拒绝置评。该文件还披露：
On the call, Chief Business Officer Philipp Schindler said strong growth in AI Mode queries had an impact on revenue because of “the lower monetization” of those queries — though he noted that the company was optimistic and is expanding ads in AI Mode, including to international markets for the first time. The company declined to comment. The filing also revealed: