Big Techs Spend $230B on AI and Post Negative Cash Flow

Tech giants Amazon, Alphabet, Meta, Microsoft and Oracle invested $230 billion in capital expenditures during the third quarter of 2026. This amount is double what was recorded during the same period last year. Combined operating cash flow reached $199 billion, resulting in a negative free cash flow of $32 billion.

This scenario marks a reversal from the $61 billion surplus observed previously. Despite the deficit, these companies are maintaining aggressive spending plans for the coming periods. Amazon projects $220 billion in expenses for 2026, while Alphabet estimates investments between $195 billion and $205 billion.

To fund this expansion, the issuance of dollar-denominated bonds linked to artificial intelligence reached $419 billion by mid-October. This figure is 90% higher than the total recorded throughout all of 2025. Only Microsoft is able to sustain its current spending using its own operating cash flow.

Investor caution has grown in light of these financial results. Alphabet shares fell 12.6% and Meta shares dropped 7% after the spending projections were released. Bitcoin also showed volatility, falling below $80,000 twice in October due to weakness in tech stocks.

The market for tokenized assets, such as bStocks, reached $1 billion in assets under management in 125 days. About 18.54% of these assets are used in decentralized finance services. This figure exceeds the industry average of 13.91%, demonstrating higher usage of tokenized stocks in on-chain operations.