Big Tech AI Spending Approaches $650 Billion Amid Financial Pressures

Large technology firms have accelerated their investments in artificial intelligence infrastructure, resulting in higher spending and increased debt levels across the sector. This trend has led to financial strain for some companies as capital expenditures continue to rise.

In 2025, Amazon, Microsoft, Alphabet, and Meta collectively allocated more than $400 billion to AI data centers. Projections indicate that this figure could reach approximately $650 billion in 2026, highlighting the scale of ongoing investments in digital infrastructure by these companies.

Debt and lease obligations among these firms increased by $117 billion in 2025, with forecasts suggesting an additional rise of nearly $200 billion in 2026. At the same time, free cash flow across the group fell to $163 billion in 2025, leaving only $28 billion after distributions to shareholders.

Meta is reported to face the greatest financial exposure from these capital expenditures, as it does not provide AI capacity to external customers in the way some of its peers do. The company’s 2026 capital expenditure is expected to increase by 75 %, reaching between $115 billion and $135 billion, which would nearly eliminate its free cash flow.

What the numbers show

• Combined capex for Amazon, Google, Meta, and Microsoft is projected at $645 billion in 2026
• Amazon’s 2026 capex guidance is $200 billion, exceeding its expected operating cash flow
• RBC estimates memory price inflation accounts for $98 billion of 2026 infrastructure spending
• Capex growth excluding memory inflation drops from 80 % in 2025 to 40 % in 2026

Industry analysis indicates that a large portion of the increased infrastructure spending in 2026 is due to higher memory prices. According to RBC Capital Markets, about $98 billion of the nearly $600 billion in projected spending is attributed to memory cost inflation, rather than additional hardware purchases.

JPMorgan projects that new capital expenditures for Amazon, Google, Meta, and Microsoft will total $230 billion in 2026. Amazon’s capital expenditure guidance for 2026 stands at roughly $200 billion, which is higher than its projected operating cash flow of $178 billion, suggesting net cash outflows for the company.

Big Tech’s spending on AI infrastructure now rivals the gross domestic product of countries such as Sweden and Israel. This comparison underscores the scale of investment currently being directed toward artificial intelligence and data center capacity by the largest technology firms.

RBC Capital Markets also states that if memory price inflation is excluded, the growth rate of capital expenditures for Big Tech is expected to decrease from approximately 80 % in 2025 to about 40 % in 2026. This suggests that cost pressures from components are a significant factor in the overall increase in spending.

* This article is based on publicly available information at the time of writing.