Four tech giants’ Q1 earnings beat expectations, raising concerns over $650 billion in AI capital expenditures

According to the financial reports released by each company, the Q1 2026 earnings reports announced on April 30 (Wednesday) by Amazon, Meta, Microsoft, and Alphabet all beat Wall Street analysts’ expectations. Cloud computing is the main growth driver for each company; however, on the same day Meta announced an upward revision to its full-year 2026 capital expenditure outlook, and its share price fell by about 6% in after-hours trading.

Financial Results for the First Quarter of the Four Tech Giants

According to the financial reports released by each company, the key figures are as follows:

Amazon: First-quarter net sales were $181.5 billion, up 17% year over year; earnings per share (EPS) was $2.78, above analysts’ estimate of $1.62; second-quarter sales guidance was $194.0 billion to $199.0 billion

Microsoft: Third fiscal-quarter revenue was $82.89 billion, up 18% year over year; operating profit was $38.4 billion; annualized revenue from AI business reached $37.0 billion, up 123%

Meta: First-quarter revenue was $56.3 billion; earnings per share were $10.44 (including a one-time $8.0 billion tax benefit)

Alphabet: First-quarter revenue was $109.9 billion; Google Cloud sales reached $20.0 billion, about $2.0 billion above analysts’ expectations

Size of AI Capital Expenditures and the After-Hours Stock Price Reaction

According to Meta’s announcement, the company raised its full-year 2026 capital expenditure outlook to $125.0 billion to $145.0 billion, due to rising component costs and expanded data center capacity for AI workloads. Based on overall industry estimates, the four hyperscale data center operators’ combined capital expenditures for 2026 are expected to exceed $650.0 billion; this figure is an industry estimate, not numbers individually disclosed by each company.

According to TradingView data, in the after-hours trading following the earnings releases, Meta’s share price fell by about 6%, Microsoft’s share price fell by about 2.5%, Amazon’s stock price also declined, and Alphabet was the only tech company to rise.

Bitcoin and Tech Stocks: Market Trend Observations

According to market data, Bitcoin (BTC) has maintained a relatively high correlation with tech-sector equities throughout 2026. The direction of large-cap tech stocks’ after-hours earnings trading on Wednesday will serve as a reference indicator for monitoring the short-term outlook for crypto assets. Key data points to watch next include Apple’s earnings report and the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) index.

Frequently Asked Questions

When will the Q1 earnings reports for Amazon, Meta, Microsoft, and Alphabet be released? What are the core performance highlights?

All companies released their Q1 earnings reports on Wednesday, April 30, 2026. All beat Wall Street analysts’ expectations; cloud computing is the main growth driver for each company, with Google Cloud coming in about $2.0 billion above expectations, and Microsoft’s annualized AI business revenue growing 123% year over year.

What is Meta’s adjusted 2026 capital expenditure outlook, and what are the reasons for the adjustment?

According to Meta’s announcement, the company raised its full-year 2026 capital expenditure outlook to $125.0 billion to $145.0 billion, due to rising component costs and increased demand for expanding AI data center capacity.

What is the estimated combined capital expenditure for the four hyperscale data center operators in 2026?

Based on overall industry estimates, the four hyperscale data center operators’ combined capital expenditures for 2026 are expected to exceed $650.0 billion; this is an industry estimate figure, not data individually disclosed by each company.