The "Al Industrial Revolution": Hyperscaler & Meta CapEx (2016-2026)

Source: Haydn Belfield

Combined 2026 CapEx for the Big 4 (Alphabet, Amazon, Microsoft, Meta) is projected to be $590 billion. ​

1. "Two-Thirds of the Pentagon" ​Equivalent to ~65-70% of the US military budget ($850–$900bn)

​2. ~1.9% of US GDP ​Rivals peak spending of the Interstate Highway System (~1.8% GDP in the late 1950s)

​3. Nation-State Equivalents ​If this CapEx" were a country, it would rank as the 24th largest in the world, surpassing:

• ​Sweden ($590B) ​- Belgium ($580B)
• ​Argentina (~$600B) ​- It is roughly double the GDP of Finland or Chile.*