The analytical company Yardeni Research noted a noticeable change in investors' approach to AI companies' stocks. Market participants are now carefully examining the capital expenditure plans of individual technology corporations. The combined capex of the four largest hyperscalers will reach six hundred billion dollars this year. This figure significantly exceeds the level of three hundred and nine billion last fiscal year. A significant part of the planned expansion of production facilities is postponed to a later date. The delays are related to energy supply issues, equipment supplies, and local licensing procedures. Researchers regard what is happening as a temporary delay, rather than a full-fledged retreat of the industry. Sightline Climate analysts recorded only nine cancelled projects among seven hundred and seventy-seven data centers. The total outstanding balance of the four hyperscalers exceeds $2.3 trillion. Microsoft is in the lead with six hundred and seventy-eight billion dollars.

The structure of financing infrastructure construction has changed significantly in recent reporting periods. Previously, hyperscalers covered capital expenditures primarily through their own cash flow. The increased investment needs of the companies exceeded the volume of free cash flow. Alphabet recorded negative free cash flow for the first time in the second quarter of 2026. Amazon's rolling twelve-month figure has turned into a notable outflow of $7.6 billion. Goldman Sachs estimated the share of external capital in the total capital expenditures of hyperscalers. Debt financing provided twenty-six percent of the capex last year. This share is expected to grow to thirty-three percent this year. By 2027, the figure could reach about thirty-five percent. S&P previously downgraded Oracle's credit rating to BBB-. The agency cited the company's dependence on OpenAI as a key risk.

Cloud services revenue shows steady growth across the entire hyperscale group. Microsoft Cloud reported revenue of $214.3 billion in fiscal year 2026. This indicator increased by twenty-seven percent compared to last year. The AWS division achieved revenue of $134.7 billion in four quarters. Amazon's growth in this segment was fifty percent year-on-year. Google Cloud recorded revenue of $77.7 billion with an increase of sixty percent. Oracle Cloud showed revenue of thirty-four billion dollars for the reporting period. Market participants are increasingly distinguishing between individual hyperscalers when analyzing indicators. Investors evaluate the contracted portfolios of orders and the cloud revenue actually received. Trading in shares of AI companies is now based on real financial results. The period of blind faith in the early days of the euphoria around artificial intelligence has ended.

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The material has been prepared solely for informational purposes and does not constitute financial advice or recommendation.