The AI spend parade is still growing
If you thought Big Tech might tap the brakes on AI spending after a few blockbuster quarters, think again. Analysts are now saying they’ve repeatedly lowballed the appetite for AI capex, with 2026 spending already guided to more than 150% above initial estimates.
And now JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs are both floating a number that sounds made up until you remember what “big tech” means: $1 trillion or more in AI capex by 2027.
Why this matters for your portfolio
This isn’t just a “cool, the robots are getting expensive” story. It’s a giant upstream demand signal. When the hyperscalers keep ratcheting up spending, the ripples hit a whole ecosystem:
- chipmakers selling the picks and shovels
- server and networking vendors trying to keep up with orders
- data center REITs and power providers feeding the beast
- suppliers across the AI infrastructure stack who get paid every time the arms race gets another budget bump
The real story: the floor keeps moving
The funniest part? The estimates are still apparently too conservative. That means the market may still be underpricing how long this spending wave lasts and how many companies get dragged into it.
In other words, AI capex is no longer a side plot. It’s becoming the main character — and the budget keeps getting rewritten mid-season.
Big picture: when the biggest companies in the world keep opening their wallets, the whole AI trade gets another tailwind. The only question is whether the return on all this spending shows up fast enough to justify the bill.