Big Tech giants are barely holding steady in premarket trading today after a brutal week erased over $1 trillion from their combined market caps. Investors spooked by massive AI spending plans are pausing, questioning if the boom risks bust.
Shaky Start Post-Selloff
As markets opened Monday, February 9, 2026, Oracle climbed 1.6% and Microsoft edged up 0.8% by 6:40 a.m. ET. Meta dipped 0.2%, Amazon stayed flat, Alphabet slid 0.5%, and Nvidia, fresh off a 7.9% Friday rebound, fell 0.9%.
This flatline caps the “Magnificent 7’s” worst week since April, down 4.66% amid U.S. tariff chaos, per Deutsche Bank’s Jim Reid. Amazon alone shed $300 billion last week after unveiling $200 billion in 2026 capex, $50 billion above forecasts.
AI Spending Fuels Jitters
Last week’s earnings exposed the scale: Amazon, Alphabet, Microsoft, and Meta burned $120 billion in Q4 capex, eyeing $700 billion for 2026 topping GDPs of UAE, Singapore, or Israel.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang defended the surge on CNBC, calling AI demand “sky high” and capex sustainable for computing overhaul.
Morgan Stanley said in a note on Monday morning.
As monthly tokens processed grows exponentially, aggregate cloud revenue for GCP/AWS/Azure accelerates, data center commitments expand, and data center component suppliers highlight accelerating demand, we believe there will continue to be upward pressure on hyperscaler capex estimates.
Outlook
Looking ahead, hyperscalers’ AI bets signal long-term dominance if demand holds. But critical scrutiny intensifies: $660 billion industry-wide AI outlays this year could strain returns if utilization lags.
Recovery flickers Magnificent 7 rose 0.45% Friday despite Amazon’s 5.55% plunge but sustained growth hinges on proving capex fuels profits, not bubbles.
