Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft boost AI spending, stocks react

Amazon, Alphabet, Microsoft, and Meta outlined massive data-center spending plans in recent earnings, signaling a new phase of AI-driven infrastructure investment. Amazon alone said it plans $200 billion in capital expenditures for 2026, more than a 50% increase from 2025.

Investors reacted with caution. Shares of several companies moved lower after the announcements, and Bernstein analyst Mark Shmulik wrote that "investors needed more than promises to underwrite this story," adding sarcastically that "If we're going to peg the share price to 2026 CapEx, maybe Amazon should have guided even higher." Amazon's stock fell as much as 10% after the bell and was down 8% the following morning.

Google told investors it plans $175 billion to $185 billion in capex for 2026, doubling its budget for a second year as demand grows for its Gemini AI models, which it said surpassed 750 million monthly active users. BNP Paribas analyst Nick Jones said the investments are "rational" given Google's backlog.