Big Tech AI capex tracker
What Alphabet, Amazon, Meta and Microsoft say they will spend on capital projects in 2026, on each company’s own basis, with links to the source.
At a glance
2026 capital-spending guidance, US$ billions
Each company’s own basis. Bands are ranges, dots are point estimates. Not AI-only, and not additive.
View data
| Company | 2026 guidance | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Amazon | ~$220B | Cash capital expenditures; majority for AWS |
| Alphabet | $195–205B | Capital expenditures; most spending on technical infrastructure (not an AI-only figure) |
| Microsoft | ~$170B | Capital expenditures; fiscal year ends in June, so calendar and fiscal figures differ |
| Meta | $135–145B | Capital expenditures including principal payments on finance leases |
The figures and their basis
| Company | 2026 guidance | What the figure includes | Latest quarter | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alphabet | $195–205 billion | Capital expenditures; most spending on technical infrastructure (not an AI-only figure) | Q3 2026: $51.4 billion | Alphabet Q3 2026 earnings call, 28 Oct 2026 |
| Amazon | ~$220 billion | Cash capital expenditures; majority for AWS | Not used here | Amazon Q3 2026 results, 29 Oct 2026 |
| Meta | $135–145 billion | Capital expenditures including principal payments on finance leases | Q3 2026: $34.91 billion (same basis) | Meta Q3 2026 results, 21 Oct 2026 |
| Microsoft | ~$170 billion (calendar 2026 estimate) | Capital expenditures; fiscal year ends in June, so calendar and fiscal figures differ | Quarter to 30 Sep 2026: $45.2 billion, incl. $7.4 billion finance leases | Microsoft FY2027 Q1 earnings call, 28 Oct 2026 |
Why there is no total
The four figures use different periods (Microsoft’s fiscal year ends in June), different accounting bases (Meta includes finance-lease principal; Amazon reports cash capex) and broad categories that are not AI-only. Adding them would produce a precise-looking number that measures nothing consistent. Read the full analysis: Big Tech’s 2026 AI Spending: Why the Meta, Alphabet, Microsoft and Amazon Capex Numbers Don’t Add Up.