Capex to Consume Nearly All Hyperscaler Operating Cash Flow in 2026
A London-based tech equity research firm projects a $600 billion gap as the largest cloud companies commit more money to data centers
SANTA CLARA, Calif., Sept. 21, 2026 – The four largest hyperscalers are expected to spend $1.8 trillion on capital investments through 2028, about $600 billion more than their underlying businesses generate in cash over the same period, a technology equity analyst said at the AI Infra Summit here.
Hyperscalers are companies that build and buy cloud infrastructure by the campus, with single sites drawing 300 megawatts to more than a gigawatt, the top of that range matching the output of a nuclear reactor. The group includes Alphabet, Amazon, Meta and Microsoft, four of the world's largest buyers of data centers, servers and AI computing equipment.
