Big Tech AI Capex Pledges Compared

Market Overview

After Wednesday's close on April 29, Meta, Microsoft, Alphabet and Amazon all reported Q1 2026 results, and the prints came in broadly ahead of expectations. Meta stole the show: Q1 net income hit $26.8 billion, a 61% leap from $16.6 billion a year earlier, with EPS of $10.44 well clear of consensus. Alongside the beat, Meta lifted its 2026 AI capital-expenditure plan to $125-145 billion and guided Q2 revenue to $58-61 billion. Apple closes the super-week after the bell on April 30, where the Street is looking for iPhone revenue up 22% YoY to roughly $57 billion and total revenue up 13-16%.

Key Takeaways

• Meta Q1 net income of $26.8B (EPS $10.44), up 61% YoY and far above the $6.43 EPS posted a year ago.
• Meta guided Q2 revenue to $58-61B; 2026 AI capex raised to $125-145B.
• Apple Q2 (expected): iPhone revenue +22%, Services +14%, total revenue +13-16% YoY.
• Amazon's AI-infrastructure commitment runs near $200B; Alphabet's is roughly $175-185B.
• Visa beat strongly (+5%) while Booking missed (-4%), underscoring a split in consumer demand.
• The tech megacaps (MSFT, META, GOOGL, AMZN) each slipped 1-2% into their prints, a sign of pre-earnings caution.

The Bottom Line

Meta's blowout confirms that AI spending is starting to convert into earnings power. Apple's Q2 result, and any read on its AI feature roadmap, will decide whether tech can stem the recent slide this week, while AI capex pledges that stretch across the cycle signal that the infrastructure build-out is not cooling off any time soon.