Monday, August 17, 2026

AI Spending and Profits

Why Big Tech’s AI Spending Is $3 Trillion Higher Than It Seems
https://www.wsj.com/tech/ai/why-big-techs-ai-spending-is-3-trillion-higher-than-it-seems-e1067bb2
Massive spending commitments for data-center leases and chips aren’t shown on companies’ balance sheets.
 
Investment gains at Alphabet and Amazon reveal a new way in which technology
companies’ fortunes are increasingly linked.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/14/business/ai-tech-profits.html 

Big Tech’s circular AI trade grows too big to veil
https://www.reuters.com/commentary/breakingviews/big-techs-circular-ai-trade-grows-too-big-veil-2026-08-03/
Consider the following: How can SpaceX (SPCX.O) and Anthropic, two ​artificial-intelligence lab operators that lose money, account for half of the $280 billion rise in net profit ‌at S&P 500 (.SPX) companies so far this quarter? The answer is largely that their respective backers, Alphabet (GOOGL.O) and Amazon.com (AMZN.O), have booked enormous paper gains as the pair’s valuations ballooned. This accounting oddity, when combined with dwindling cash and deeper corporate entanglements, makes the financial logic hard ​to follow.