Amazon, Alphabet, Microsoft, Meta and SpaceX, which includes xAI, are expected to spend as much as $828 billion in 2026 on data centers, chips and other AI infrastructure. The spending, which exceeds the market value of ExxonMobil or Mastercard, has fueled concerns about free cash flow and helped erase more than $1 trillion in market value from Nasdaq 100 companies. Microsoft remains the only one of the five companies with positive free cash flow in the third quarter, while Amazon, Alphabet, Meta and SpaceX recorded negative free cash flow. Strong growth in cloud revenue could eventually justify the investments, but analysts warn that heavy borrowing and a failure to generate adequate profits could affect the broader US economy.
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