Updated
Updated · Yahoo Finance · Aug 18
71% of Fund Managers See No Hyperscaler Capex Cuts as AI Spend Nears $860 Billion
Updated
Updated · Yahoo Finance · Aug 18

71% of Fund Managers See No Hyperscaler Capex Cuts as AI Spend Nears $860 Billion

3 articles · Updated · Yahoo Finance · Aug 18

Summary

  • 71% of fund managers surveyed by BofA expect no major AI hyperscaler to cut capital spending this year, up from 61% in July.
  • BofA estimates 2026 hyperscaler capex could approach $860 billion—up 80% year over year—and sees a path to about $1.2 trillion in 2027 as compute supply stays tight and AI demand accelerates.
  • Amazon leads the 2026 spending pack at roughly $220 billion, while Alphabet targets $195 billion to $205 billion, Microsoft about $190 billion, and Meta $130 billion to $145 billion.
  • Only 21% of respondents expect a capex cut, while hyperscaler AI spending was again cited as the most likely source of a systemic credit event, underscoring why the outlays still weigh on tech stocks.

Insights

With hyperscalers hiding massive AI debt in off-balance structures, could an AI return failure trigger the next global credit crisis?
If new AI models become vastly more efficient, could these billion-dollar data centers become the world's most expensive abandoned assets?