Nearly $240bn has been wiped off Amazon’s value as investors grow anxious over the eye-watering sums Wall Street is pouring into AI. Shares in the e-commerce giant plunged 10% at the open after it unveiled a $200bn (£148bn) surge in spending on AI infrastructure.
The announcement came a day after Google said its AI spending would double to $185bn, highlighting an intensifying arms race among tech giants. Combined capital expenditure on AI projects by Amazon, Google, Meta and Microsoft is expected to reach $650bn this year alone.
Markets steadied after Thursday’s sharp sell-off, which saw the tech-heavy Nasdaq fall 1.6%, with US stocks rebounding in early trading on Friday.
Amazon CEO Andy Jassy struck an optimistic tone, saying:
“With such strong demand for our existing offerings and seminal opportunities like AI, chips, robotics, and low earth orbit satellites, we expect to invest about $200 billion in capital expenditures across Amazon in 2026, and anticipate strong long-term return on invested capital.”
