Amazon, Microsoft results show Big Tech's AI spending spree is far from over

Amazon has lifted its 2026 capital spending forecast to $220 billion, mostly earmarked for AI, while Microsoft's cloud growth triggered a $450 billion single-day jump in market value, the biggest in stock market history. Alphabet and Meta also raised spending guidance, but investors punished both over unclear returns, with Meta down nearly 8% and Alphabet off more than 7% earlier in the month. Chipmakers and equipment suppliers, including Samsung, SK Hynix and Nvidia, are rebounding on the renewed spending signals. For South African investors tracking global tech exposure, the numbers suggest the AI infrastructure boom still has room to run, despite growing scrutiny of returns..By Dina Bass and Zsana Hoskins.Aggressive AI spending plans by Amazon.com Inc., Microsoft Corp. and Alphabet Inc. provided fresh evidence that demand for chips and related equipment will remain strong, offering relief to a sector that’s been battered in recent days. Amazon boosted its forecast for full-year capital expenditures to $220 billion on Thursday, up from a previous estimate of $200 billion. And Chief Executive Officer Andy Jassy said most of that spending will go toward artificial intelligence. The outlook was part of a rush of earnings reports delivered by so-called hyperscalers — the world’s largest cloud computing providers — and they showed there’s been no letup in ambitions for building AI infrastructure. Microsoft affirmed its capital expenditure forecast, absent the impact of an accounting change. Google parent Alphabet raised its spending outlook, and Meta Platforms Inc. increased the low end of its guidance for capital expenditures.That’s good news for the businesses that make chips, networking gear and other technology used in data centers. Fears of a potential spending slowdown had weighed on shares of those companies.Now their outlook for the coming year is brightening, according to Bloomberg Intelligence analysts Kunjan Sobhani and Oscar Hernandez Tejada.“With most large hyperscalers raising or reiterating capital spending plans in their earnings commentary, the likelihood of upside to 2026-27 consensus for computing and networking chipmakers is growing,” they said in a note..Amazon investors applauded its results, which showed that cloud computing revenue accelerated for a fifth straight quarter. The message: The company’s spending spree is getting results. Microsoft got a similarly warm reception. It added nearly half a trillion dollars to its valuation on Thursday after reporting the fastest cloud growth in four years. The $450 billion increase to its market capitalization was the biggest single bump for any company in history. Investors were less impressed with Meta and Alphabet. In both cases, the companies were dogged by concerns that their expenditures didn’t have a clear payoff. Meta, owner of Facebook and Instagram, dropped nearly 8% on Thursday following its report. It delivered a weak sales forecast paired with commitments for almost $700 billion in future spending. It’s no longer enough to show that a company is investing heavily in AI, said Ken Gawrelski, an analyst at Wells Fargo & Co. Investors increasingly want to see a return, he said. “Go back 12 to 18 months ago, it was about how much could you spend and how much capacity could you bring online,” he said. “Now the market has pivoted, and is rightly focused on the return on investment.” Google fell 7.1% on July 23, the day after projecting full-year capital expenditures will be $195 billion to $205 billion in 2026. That was up from a previous forecast of $190 billion. In any case, all that spending is poised to benefit suppliers that had been under a cloud recently. Samsung Electronics Co. and SK Hynix Inc., which make memory chips, slumped earlier this week — only to rebound on the latest spending signals. CoreWeave Inc., Nebius Group NV, Intel Corp. and Nvidia Corp. are emerging from similar slumps.Several of these companies were among the public holdings of Leopold Aschenbrenner’s hedge fund, Situational Awareness, which sold off some of its equity positions after suffering losses in the AI stock rout in recent weeks, according to people familiar with the matter. That may have accounted for some of the stock declines..Read more:.Prosus teams up with Amazon for AI, cloud deal and big savings.The question now is whether chipmakers and other equipment makers can maintain a resurgence, said Bloomberg Intelligence’s Sobhani. Data center companies indicated that they may slow spending if needed, he noted, so a windfall isn’t guaranteed. “For semiconductor stocks, it should help stabilize sentiment, but might not be enough to swing things around for a large upside in stocks,” he said. .© 2026 Bloomberg L.P..Sign up for your early morning brew of the BizNews Insider to keep you up to speed with the content that matters. The newsletter will land in your inbox every morning on weekdays. Register here.Support South Africa's bastion of independent journalism, offering balanced insights on investments, business, and the political economy, by joining BizNews Premium. Register here.If you prefer WhatsApp for updates, sign up to the BizNews channel here.

Amazon, Microsoft results show Big Tech's AI spending spree is far from over

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