Alphabet, ServiceNow, Fortinet rout erases $600 billion, 12% of India’s market cap

A selloff in global technology and consumer stocks wiped out nearly $600 billion in market value on Thursday, equivalent to about 12% of India’s $5.02 trillion market capitalisation at the close. Disappointing September-quarter results and cautious outlooks from major companies, including Alphabet Inc., ServiceNow Inc. and Fortinet Inc., fuelled concerns that artificial intelligence (AI) could disrupt established business models and weigh on growth.

Alphabet, the parent of Google, led the rout, with shares plunging as much as 14% intraday, their steepest drop on record. Weaker-than-expected third-quarter revenue from search and advertising offset strong growth in its cloud business. The decline erased more than $500 billion in market value at the session’s lows, marking the company’s biggest-ever single-day loss in market capitalisation.

Mizuho Securities described Alphabet’s results as “not terrible, but not really good”, adding that they represented the worst-case outcome for the stock heading into year-end, when investors may sell and wait for signs of a reacceleration in search.

The weakness in search “elevates the fear around AI and agentic [AI] systems taking share from Search and YouTube, and hurting Google’s AI monetisation narrative, even with Gemini and its own models and agentic capabilities on the way”, analyst Jordan Klein wrote in an investor note.

ServiceNow shares also came under heavy pressure, plunging more than 25% to a record intraday low. Its quarterly subscription revenue outlook met analysts’ expectations but failed to ease Wall Street’s concerns that AI could disrupt the software maker’s business.

Citi, which maintains a Buy rating on the stock with a 12-month price target of $157, described ServiceNow’s third-quarter results as mixed against elevated expectations. “AI acceleration may require more patience,” the brokerage said in an investor note.

Fortinet shares tumbled 27%, marking their biggest intraday drop since August 2025. The network security solutions provider lost $34 billion in market value after issuing a disappointing outlook for service revenue.

Analysts pointed to a slowdown in growth, noting that revenue expansion had “decelerated from prior quarters, reflecting moderation in product revenue growth and a slowdown in services”.

Meanwhile, shares of Sprouts Farmers Market fell as much as 24% on Thursday, hitting their lowest intraday level since December 2023. The grocer lowered its full-year comparable-sales forecast, prompting downgrades from BofA and RBC Capital. Analysts questioned whether planned price cuts would be enough to drive store traffic as competition for budget-conscious shoppers intensified across the grocery sector.

The declines across the four companies underscore growing investor anxiety over slowing growth, cautious corporate guidance and AI’s potential to reshape established industries. Together, the stocks shed nearly $600 billion in market value, highlighting the scale of the selloff relative to India’s equity market.