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[미디어펜=김종현 기자] Concerns about financial soundness are growing as America’s big tech companies announce enormous investments in artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure this year.
According to CNBC on the 6th (local time), the four big tech companies, including Google Alphabet, Amazon.com, Meta, and Microsoft, are expected to invest about $700 billion in AI infrastructure this year.
This is an increase of more than 60% compared to last year, which was the highest ever, and will focus on purchasing expensive semiconductors, building ultra-large data centers, and securing network technology.
However, such massive investments can place a large burden on free cash flow (FCF) and worsen financial soundness.
The free cash flow of the four big tech companies, which was $237 billion in 2024, decreased to $200 billion in 2025, and a further decline is expected in 2026.
Amazon announced plans to invest $200 billion this year, with Morgan Stanley predicting that Amazon’s free cash flow will turn into minus $17 billion, and Bank of America predicting a deficit of $28 billion. Accordingly, Amazon has already disclosed to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) the possibility of raising funds through the issuance of stocks and bonds.
Amazon.com’s stock price plunged 5.55% on this day as concerns about excessive AI investment grew.
Alphabet plans to invest up to $185 billion this year, and Morgan Stanley predicts that this will expand to $250 billion by 2027. Pivotal Research predicted that Alphabet’s free cash flow will plummet by nearly 90% from $73.3 billion in 2025 to $8.2 billion this year.
Meta also plans to invest up to $135 billion this year. Barclays predicted that Meta’s free cash flow will decrease by nearly 90% and turn negative by 2027-2028.
Microsoft is growing its investments more slowly than other big tech companies, but its free cash flow is expected to decline by 28% this year.
However, the investment scale of these big techs is small compared to Open AI. OpenAI announced AI investment worth $1.4 trillion. If such investments are disrupted, it could have a shock to the overall market.
“We are at the beginning of a new technological transition, and it is very difficult to predict the sustainability of sales,” said Michael Nastenson, co-founder of research firm Moffett Nastenson.
However, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang expressed optimism. “The technology industry’s surging capital spending on AI infrastructure is justified, appropriate and sustainable,” he told CNBC.
“As long as people continue to pay for AI and AI companies can monetize it, investments will continue to double, double, double,” he said.
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date: 2026-02-07 16:23:00