For years, it was common for even the biggest tech companies to have annual capital expenditures, or capex, in the single- to low-double-digit-billion range.
You might have heard a tech company say it planned to spend $9 billion, $15 billion, or even $25 billion on research, development, and other costs in the upcoming fiscal year.
But lately, capital expenditures at the largest tech companies have been off the charts, with some companies now regularly forecasting single-year capex in the hundreds of billions.
The driving factor for this is, of course, artificial intelligence (AI). Some of the biggest names in tech are throwing previously unthinkable sums behind AI development in an attempt to become the king of artificial intelligence down the road.
This week, investors received an update on capex from five major tech companies—Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta, and Microsoft—all of which reported their latest earnings.
Here’s what they said they expect to spend on capex during their current fiscal year.
Amazon: $200 billion
The leader in reported capital expenditures for 2026 is Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN). All the way back in February, the company’s CEO, Andy Jassy, confirmed that the e-commerce giant would spend around $200 billion in capex during the year.
