Big Tech's AI spending is raising investor concerns, as Microsoft, Meta, and Amazon released quarterly earnings reports this week, shifting focus to when rising capital expenditures will deliver returns. This follows Alphabet's recent experience: it reported its highest quarterly profit in history, at $112.1 billion, but its stock price dropped more than 7% after investors grew cautious about the company’s $15 billion increase in its 2026 capital expenditure forecast. Alphabet, Microsoft, Meta, and Amazon are expected to collectively spend $700 billion on capital expenditures this year, with Wall Street forecasting this figure could exceed $1 trillion by 2027. According to UBS Global Wealth Management, "Limited visibility on capital expenditures after 2027, combined with rising investor demands for spending discipline, may continue to suppress risk appetite." Moody’s warned that sustained capital expenditure plans could "threaten credit quality," with the total direct debt of six major tech companies amounting to approximately $460 billion. For Microsoft, analysts expect capital expenditures this quarter to increase by 74% year-over-year. Morgan Stanley estimates Microsoft’s Azure achieved approximately 41% constant currency growth in the fourth fiscal quarter, exceeding management’s guidance. Paid seats for Microsoft M365 Copilot increased from 15 million to 20 million in the third fiscal quarter.