Amazon's $200B AI Wager: The Market Crashes Down on Big Tech's Profitability Math
Amazon's revelation of a $200 billion capital expenditure plan for 2026 sent shockwaves through Wall Street on February 5, triggering an 11% after-hours plunge and raising a uncomfortable question investors had been reluctant to ask: At what point does aggressive AI infrastructure spending destroy shareholder value? The announcement, coming just one day after Alphabet revealed its own $180 billion capex guidance, marks a critical inflection point in the technology sector's AI arms race—one where the winners are becoming increasingly unclear. With Amazon stock down more than 8% on the revelation and the broader tech sector roiling with doubt, the market is finally demanding answers about profitability timelines and return-on-investment metrics that Silicon Valley has largely avoided.