Google is going for the jugular — by doubling capex and outspending the rest of Big Tech

In a bold move, Alphabet is ramping up its financial commitment to AI infrastructure and data centers, projecting capital expenditures between $175 billion and $185 billion for 2026. This marks a significant increase, nearly doubling last year's forecast for property and equipment investments, as noted in their fourth-quarter earnings report released on Wednesday. Previously, in October, Google anticipated a capex of $91 billion to $93 billion for 2025. Following the earnings report, the company's stock experienced a 2% decline. The surge in spending is primarily aimed at fulfilling growing customer demands. In their earnings statement, Alphabet highlighted that their investments in AI and infrastructure are driving revenue growth across multiple sectors. This substantial financial shift aligns with trends seen in Big Tech, where competitors like Microsoft, Meta, and Amazon have also significantly increased their expenditures amid the AI race. During recent earnings calls, both Meta and Microsoft reported higher spending than expected for 2025. Despite exceeding Wall Street revenue forecasts, only Meta's stock experienced an uptick, while Microsoft saw a drop of over 6%. Concerns from investors primarily revolved around Microsoft's backlog, which is largely linked to a single client—OpenAI.