Meta, Google, and Microsoft Triple Down on AI Spending

Three of the largest U.S. technology firms—Meta, Google (Alphabet), and Microsoft—reported record quarterly profits alongside unprecedented capital outlays for artificial‑intelligence infrastructure. Meta forecast capex of $70‑$72 billion, up from its prior range, while Alphabet lifted its 2025 spending outlook to $91‑$93 billion. Microsoft’s quarterly capex rose to $34.9 billion, a 74 percent year‑over‑year jump. All three companies highlighted strong revenue growth in cloud and advertising segments, aggressive AI talent recruitment, and strategic partnerships, even as analysts warn of a possible AI market bubble.

Record Profits and Accelerated AI Investment

Meta, Google’s parent company Alphabet, and Microsoft each posted record quarterly earnings, a performance the firms tied directly to surging demand for artificial‑intelligence services. Their financial disclosures revealed that each company is substantially increasing capital expenditures to expand data‑center capacity and AI‑related infrastructure, signaling a collective belief that AI will dominate future technology markets.

Meta’s Expanding AI Budget

Meta announced that its capital expenditure for the current year will fall between $70 billion and $72 billion, an increase from its earlier forecast of $66 billion to $72 billion. Chief Financial Officer Susan Li indicated that next‑year spending is expected to be "notably larger." The company’s quarterly revenue reached $51.24 billion, a 26 percent year‑over‑year rise, driven largely by advertising. CEO Mark Zuckerberg emphasized an aggressive front‑loading strategy to build AI capacity, describing it as preparation for "the most optimistic cases." Meta has also intensified AI talent recruitment, offering compensation packages worth hundreds of millions of dollars, while cutting roughly 600 jobs to streamline its AI teams. The firm reported that AI is already benefiting its ad business and virtual‑reality product lines.

Alphabet’s Capital Expenditure Surge

Alphabet lifted its 2025 capital‑expenditure outlook to a range of $91 billion to $93 billion, up from an earlier estimate of $75 billion. The company’s quarterly revenue climbed to $102.3 billion, a 33 percent increase year over year. Most of the additional spending is earmarked for data‑center expansion and AI initiatives. Google’s cloud segment generated $15.15 billion in revenue, up 35 percent, while its Gemini AI application reached 650 million monthly active users, up from 450 million in the prior quarter.

Microsoft’s Cloud Growth and Capex Expansion

Microsoft reported quarterly revenue of $77 billion, an 18 percent year‑over‑year increase, with cloud revenue rising 26 percent. Capital expenditures for the quarter reached $34.9 billion, $5 billion above prior forecasts and representing a 74 percent jump from the same quarter a year earlier. Chief Financial Officer Amy Hood said the company expects spending to increase sequentially and anticipates fiscal‑year‑2026 growth to exceed that of fiscal‑year‑2025. CEO Satya Nadella highlighted the development of "fungible" data‑center infrastructure that can be modernized continuously, citing Moore’s law as a driver of efficiency.

Strategic Partnerships and Industry Concerns

Microsoft disclosed a $13 billion commitment to OpenAI and recorded a $3.1 billion loss linked to that partnership, noting that future financial outlooks will exclude OpenAI impacts. Nvidia announced a conditional investment of up to $100 billion in OpenAI, contingent on the deployment of at least 10 gigawatts of AI data‑center capacity using Nvidia chips. OpenAI itself is planning 30 gigawatts of computing resources valued at $1.4 trillion. While the three tech giants are betting heavily on AI, analysts such as Mark Moerdler of Bernstein caution that the rapid expansion could be fueling an AI market bubble, despite the companies’ efforts to build capacity in manageable tranches.