Is hyperscaler capex still accelerating?
As of filings through October 30, 2026; latest quarter complete for all five: Sep 2026
In the quarter ended Sep 2026, all 5 spent at least 25% more than a year earlier: Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon, Meta and Oracle. Over the 33 quarters the rule can be judged here, the count has averaged 3.0.
- Count, latest quarter
- 5 of 5
- Companies meeting the rule in the latest quarter complete for all five
- Average count
- 3.0
- Over the 33 calendar quarters the rule can be judged
- Highest count
- 5
- Most companies meeting the rule in any one quarter since Sep 2018
The rule, fixed before any result was read
A company counts in a quarter when its purchases of property and equipment are at least 25% above the same calendar quarter a year earlier. The threshold is a round number chosen before any result was read.
Quarter by quarter
Count of fiveCount of companies meeting the rule in each calendar quarter. A lighter bar means fewer than 5 could be judged that quarter.
The five in the latest quarter
Millions of dollars, Sep 2026| Company | Fiscal quarter | Capital spending | Operating cash flow | Share of cash flow | Against a year earlier | Long-term debt change | Meets the rule |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Microsoft | Sep 2026 | 39,367 | 58,000 | 68% | +103.0% | +23 | Yes |
| Alphabet | Sep 2026 | 51,355 | 42,290 | 121% | +114.4% | +26,937 | Yes |
| Amazon | Sep 2026 | 77,259 | 42,422 | 182% | +120.1% | +44,231 | Yes |
| Meta | Sep 2026 | 33,942 | 32,785 | 104% | +80.3% | (2,742) | Yes |
| Oracle | Aug 2026 | 28,499 | 23,103 | 123% | +235.2% | — | Yes |
Why this rule
The build-out is a growth story, and the market prices the growth rate rather than the level. A quarter in which spending merely holds its record would already be a change.
Year-on-year comparison removes the seasonality that makes a single quarter’s change hard to read. The threshold is deliberately coarse: it separates a plan that is still expanding from one that has flattened, not fine gradations.
Questions this page answers
- What exactly is the rule?
- A company counts in a quarter when its purchases of property and equipment are at least 25% above the same calendar quarter a year earlier. The threshold is a round number chosen before any result was read.
- Which companies met it in the latest quarter?
- Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon, Meta and Oracle in the quarter ended Sep 2026.
- Why is the verdict a count and not a score?
- A count keeps every input checkable: each company either met the printed rule or did not, and the company page shows the figures that decided it. A blended score would hide which input moved.
- Which quarter does the verdict describe?
- The latest calendar quarter for which all five hyperscalers have structured filings, Sep 2026 as of October 30, 2026. A company that has reported a later quarter shows it on its own page; the count moves when all five have reached the next quarter.