Core Insights - The current environment for Big Tech is marked by rising investor anxiety due to significant AI spending, leading to volatility in stock prices [1] - Major tech companies are planning to double their infrastructure spending compared to last year, with Amazon forecasting $200 billion in capital expenditures for 2026, a 50% increase year-over-year [2] - There is growing skepticism regarding the return on investment from AI spending, as evidenced by the mixed performance of tech stocks following earnings reports [3] Group 1: Company Performance - Meta's stock surged after reporting accelerated ad revenue growth attributed to AI tools enhancing ad impressions and engagement [4] - Microsoft and Amazon experienced declines in stock prices after disappointing cloud computing results, which are seen as key indicators of AI-driven growth [4] - The S&P Software & Services Index has fallen over 20% since the beginning of the year, reflecting concerns about potential AI losers in the market [4] Group 2: Market Sentiment - The recent sell-off in tech stocks has been interpreted by some experts as a necessary correction, alleviating previous AI bubble concerns [3][6] - The term "SaaSpocalypse" has been used to describe the panic in the software sector, although some industry leaders argue that fears of AI replacing the software industry are exaggerated [5] - The tech sector showed signs of recovery with a broad stock rally, as investors regained confidence in the ongoing substantial investments in data center infrastructure [7] Group 3: Industry Trends - The demand for AI data centers has significantly boosted the profits of memory device manufacturers, with shares of Sandisk rising nearly 150% since the start of the year [8] - The current market dynamics suggest a shift in the AI narrative, focusing on the economic implications of AI deployment and potential industry displacements [6]

Volatility is expected in crypto, but these wild swings have not been seen since late 2022, when the FTX empire of notorious crypto conman Sam Bankman-Fried blew up. On Thursday evening, Bitcoin briefly dipped below $60,000, which represented a roughly 52% drop since its all-time high of $126,000 in October. By early afternoon on Friday, though, the original cryptocurrency surged up about 17% to its current price of roughly $70,000, according to Binance. The 24-hour rollercoaster ride for Bitcoin mirror ...

Core Insights - The four major tech companies, Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon, and Meta, are projected to invest over $650 billion in artificial intelligence in 2026, with significant capital expenditures planned [1][2][3] Investment Plans - Amazon plans to invest approximately $200 billion in capital expenditures by 2026 [1] - Alphabet's capital expenditures are expected to range between $175 billion and $185 billion for the current year [1] - Meta's spending is projected to be between $115 billion and $135 billion in 2026 [2] - Microsoft's annual run rate for capital expenditures is estimated at $145 billion for its 2026 fiscal year [2] Expenditure Growth - The total spending from these four companies is expected to increase by about 67% to 74% compared to their $381 billion expenditures in 2025, with a low-end estimate of $635 billion and a high-end estimate of $665 billion [3] Focus Areas - The majority of the investments will be directed towards AI chips, servers, and data center infrastructure [3] Market Reactions - Following the announcements, Amazon's stock fell over 8%, Alphabet's shares dropped 3%, and Microsoft experienced an 11% decline after reporting slower growth in its Azure cloud unit [5] - In contrast, Meta's stock rallied due to positive quarterly results and the impact of AI on its ad revenue [6] Investor Sentiment - Investors are exhibiting caution regarding the spending plans of tech companies, reflecting a more scrutinizing approach towards returns on AI investments [6][7] - There is a growing belief in the transformative potential of AI for enterprises, influenced by advancements from companies like Anthropic and Google's Gemini 3 [8]

Core Viewpoint - Big Tech companies have experienced a significant decline in market capitalization, losing over $1 trillion due to concerns over AI spending and capital expenditures [1]. Group 1: Market Performance - Microsoft, Nvidia, Oracle, Meta, Amazon, and Alphabet all saw their shares decline in the week leading up to Thursday's market close, driven by fears surrounding AI spending [1]. - Amazon's shares fell by 7% in premarket trading on Friday, while Alphabet decreased by 0.7%, and Meta remained largely unchanged; Oracle, Nvidia, and Microsoft saw slight increases in the low single-digit percentages [2]. Group 2: Capital Expenditure Plans - Big Tech companies announced plans to invest $660 billion into AI this year, a figure that exceeds the GDP of several countries, including the United Arab Emirates, Singapore, and Israel [2]. Group 3: Industry Sentiment and Volatility - Companies developing hardware for AI are expected to face ongoing volatility as market sentiment shifts, with concerns about capital expenditures related to large language model (LLM) build-outs and the potential for over-expansion of capacity [3]. - Investment director Paul Markham highlighted that questions regarding the extent of capital expenditures and the eventual return on investment will persist in the industry [3].

Public and private market investors have indiscriminately been attributing huge premiums to AI companies, and the party continues — the music is still playing and people are still dancing. But when the music stops, investors will scramble for assets in a frantic game of musical chairs. We have seen this all before. As with the dot com bubble, the long-term potential of the technology is massive; the over-valuations are just part of the initial hype. Right now, we’re already slipping into the Trough of Dis ...

Join our daily newsletter At The Bell to receive exclusive market insightsASX today – Well, batten down those hatches tight, traders: We’re heading for a -1.2% nosedive first up this morning, Friday, with all the pain from Wall Street leading us towards a 100-point retreat to end a topsy-turvy week.Listen to the HotCopper podcast for in-depth discussions and insights on all the biggest headlines from throughout the week. On Spotify, Apple, and more.Things have been bloody over in the U.S., with the Nasdaq d ...

Core Viewpoint - Amazon's shares experienced a significant decline following the release of mixed fourth-quarter earnings and an aggressive forecast for AI spending in 2026, which exceeded analyst expectations by a substantial margin [1][2]. Financial Performance - Revenue for the fourth quarter rose 14% year-over-year to $213.4 billion, slightly surpassing Wall Street analysts' consensus estimates [1]. - Earnings per share for the quarter were reported at $1.95 on a diluted basis, missing expectations by one cent [1]. Stock Market Reaction - Amazon's stock fell 4% during regular trading and an additional 7% in after-hours trading after the earnings report was released [2]. AI Investment Strategy - The company announced plans to invest $200 billion in AI by 2026, which is over $55 billion more than what analysts had anticipated [2]. - CEO Andy Jassy emphasized that the substantial capital expenditure is justified by strong demand for existing offerings and significant opportunities in AI, chips, robotics, and low earth orbit satellites [4]. Advertising and Viewership Growth - The holiday quarter saw Prime Video achieve record viewership for Thursday Night Football, averaging 15.33 million viewers per game across 15 regular-season games [5]. - Prime Video also began streaming NBA games as part of an 11-year deal initiated last October [5]. - Advertising revenue for Prime increased by 22% year-over-year, reaching $21.3 billion, marking the latest in a series of quarterly increases exceeding 20% [6].

Quick Read OpenAI’s latest funding round valued the company at $830B. Anthropic is currently valued at $350B with an enterprise and AI safety focus. SpaceX and xAI are combining for an IPO estimated at $1.25T in late 2026. A recent study identified one single habit that doubled Americans’ retirement savings and moved retirement from dream, to reality. Read more here. Whether or not this is the year that some of the biggest AI IPOs hit the public markets, there's certainly a packed pipeline of pr ...

Software stocks are taking it on the chin again on Wednesday. The iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF was down another 3% as the software sector faced selling pressure for a second straight session.The decline comes after a particularly brutal sell-off on Tuesday as investors panicked about Anthropic's new AI tool, which can perform a range of clerical and administrative tasks for people working in the legal industry. Legal software stocks got crushed, but the selling spilled over into the broader s ...

US stocks sank on Tuesday as investors digested a wave of tech-focused earnings, while precious metals jumped to continue their wild ride and a partial government shutdown neared an end. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) sank 1.4%, with its sell-off gaining steam throughout the day. The S&P 500 (^GSPC) lost 0.8%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) fell around 0.3% after the blue-chip benchmark led gains on Monday. Palantir's (PLTR) surprisingly strong quarterly results signaled the AI trade m ...