BusinessLine·2025-10-30 04:11Core Viewpoint - The largest technology companies are heavily investing in AI infrastructure, with significant capital expenditures raising concerns about potential overvaluation in the market [1][3]. Group 1: Capital Expenditures - Alphabet Inc., Meta Platforms Inc., and Microsoft Corp. collectively reported $78 billion in capital expenditures last quarter, marking an 89% increase from the previous year [1][2]. - Microsoft recorded a record $34.9 billion in capital expenditures during the September quarter, while Google expects its capital expenditures to reach up to $93 billion this year, up from a previous estimate of $85 billion [4][6]. - Meta warned that its capital spending would grow at a "significantly faster" rate next year, alongside a $16 billion tax charge [7][10]. Group 2: AI Investments and Demand - Microsoft’s Chief Financial Officer stated that the company cannot meet the current demand for AI services, indicating that demand is increasing across multiple sectors [3]. - Google reported that its Gemini AI assistant has 650 million monthly active users, a 44% increase from three months prior, and its cloud revenue rose 34% to $15.2 billion [5][6]. - Microsoft and Google have substantial backlogs, with Microsoft’s backlog for commercial customers at $392 billion and Google’s at $155 billion, nearly double from 18 months ago [9]. Group 3: Company-Specific Insights - Meta is not a major cloud-computing provider, making its spending riskier compared to Microsoft and Google, which can sell excess computing power [8]. - Meta's investments in AI are aimed at enhancing advertising targeting, which is its primary revenue source, despite facing a $4.4 billion loss in its Reality Labs division [10][11]. - Zuckerberg emphasized the importance of investing adequately in AI, suggesting that underinvestment poses a greater risk than overspending [11][12].