Alphabet Loses $859M on 'Moonshots' in 2Q 2016
I don't think it's right to equate R&D spending with "losses". Google makes a profit, not a loss, so technically it does not have losses. It has expenses, and among those, investments in future technology.<p>If all Google could do with their cash flow was pay a dividend, that would be very sad, and it would call for a much lower P/E ratio. This article completely misstates the facts.<p>Perhaps the way they break out their financial statements is confusing to someone without an accounting degree. Just because "Other Bets" is negative, a growing negative number in this case is a good thing. This is showing Google has more free cash to invest in growth and has good ideas they believe in and want to pursue. I would be worried if instead they were stockpiling cash. You would then have to ask, why can't they put it to work effectively?<p>Of course, everything they do that is making money is no longer an "Other Bet" by definition.