{"slug": "tech-stock-investors-have-a-1-trillion-problem-that-won-t-improve-until-at-least", "title": "Tech stock investors have a $1 trillion problem that won't improve until at least 2028", "summary": "Goldman Sachs strategist Ben Snider reports that consensus estimates for 2027 hyperscaler capital expenditures have surged by over $100 billion to more than $1 trillion (33% annual growth) since the start of earnings season, while 2026 estimates rose by $36 billion. Meta raised its 2026 capex range to $135-$145 billion, and Alphabet raised its full-year guidance to $195-$205 billion, with both companies signaling further increases for 2027, yet capex is expected to exceed cash flow from operations from 2026 through 2028, pressuring tech stocks.", "body_md": "Tech investors hoping for less robust AI spending may have to wait until 2028 before the fog begins to lift on this balance sheet line item.\n\n**Quick analysis: **Consensus estimates for 2026 hyperscaler capital expenditures have been raised by a modest $36 billion since the start of the reporting season, according to new research from Goldman Sachs strategist Ben Snider. But 2027 capex estimates have jumped from $929 billion (23% annual growth) to over $1 trillion (33% annual growth) over this period.\n\nThis is more than $100 billion above estimates heading into the quarter, Snider pointed out. What's more, capex stands to exceed cash flow from operations from 2026 through 2028.\n\n**The finer details:** The reaction to large-scale capex by the hyperscalers has been rough for the bulls.\n\nMeta ([META](https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/META/)) raised the bottom end of its 2026 capital expenditure target, tightening the full-year spending range to $135 billion to $145 billion (up from $125 billion to $145 billion).\n\nBut specifics about 2027 capital expenditures were nonexistent.\n\n\"We aren't providing a specific outlook for 2027 capex at this time,\" Meta CFO Susan Li told analysts on a late-Wednesday earnings call. \"Infrastructure planning remains highly dynamic. Even this year, there are a range of outcomes embedded in our outlook.\"\n\nMeta's stock is down 7% over the past five days, and 14% for the year, per [Yahoo Finance AlphaSpace](https://finance.yahoo.com/about/promos/gold/alphaspace?100003557) data.\n\n[Alphabet's second quarter capital expenditures](https://finance.yahoo.com/video/earnings-negative-cash-flows-make-big-tech-more-economically-sensitive-140918058.html) came in at $44.9 billion, slightly above Wall Street forecasts of $44.7 billion. Full-year capex guidance was raised to $195 billion to $205 billion from $180 billion to $190 billion, with a \"significant\" increase seen for 2027, executives said on the earnings call.\n\nShares of Alphabet were crushed in response to its earnings report.\n\n**The bottom line: **Free cash flow is king for the hyperscalers right now, and only Microsoft ([MSFT](https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/MSFT/)) has a good story to tell there in the near term.\n\n*Brian Sozzi** is Yahoo Finance's Executive Editor, host of the '**Power Players With Brian Sozzi'** podcast and a member of Yahoo Finance's editorial leadership team. Follow Sozzi on X** @BrianSozzi**,** Instagram**, and** LinkedIn**. Tips on stories? Email brian.sozzi@yahoofinance.com.*\n\n**Click here for in-depth analysis of the latest stock market news and events moving stock prices**\n\n**Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance**", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/tech-stock-investors-have-a-1-trillion-problem-that-won-t-improve-until-at-least", "canonical_source": "https://ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/tech-stock-investors-have-a-1-trillion-problem-that-wont-improve-until-at-least-2028-120918848.html", "published_at": "2026-08-03 12:09:18+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-08-03 12:24:30.171147+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["ai-infrastructure"], "entities": ["Goldman Sachs", "Ben Snider", "Meta", "Alphabet", "Microsoft", "Susan Li", "Yahoo Finance"], "alternates": {"html": "https://wpnews.pro/news/tech-stock-investors-have-a-1-trillion-problem-that-won-t-improve-until-at-least", "markdown": "https://wpnews.pro/news/tech-stock-investors-have-a-1-trillion-problem-that-won-t-improve-until-at-least.md", "text": "https://wpnews.pro/news/tech-stock-investors-have-a-1-trillion-problem-that-won-t-improve-until-at-least.txt", "jsonld": "https://wpnews.pro/news/tech-stock-investors-have-a-1-trillion-problem-that-won-t-improve-until-at-least.jsonld"}}