A speaker argues that free cash flow at hyperscalers such as Alphabet, Amazon, Meta and Microsoft remains a key market concern, as these companies have invested heavily in AI infrastructure and sharply cut stock buybacks. Citing the Kobiasi team, he says buybacks by these firms totaled only $4.4 billion in the third quarter, far below their recent levels. The group's share purchases have reportedly dropped 90% from a peak of $45.9 billion in the fourth quarter of 2021. He notes buybacks are not mandatory and have historically propped up earnings and stock prices, and that companies are now tightening their buyback programs.
Summary written by Upside AI from the original article. Read the source for full details.
Read the original on Yahoo Finance ↗
Keywords
share buybacksAI investmentMSFTdata centers
Open a keyword to see other news on the same topic.
Related tickers and likely impact
MSFT
▼ Likely negativeMicrosoft
Relevance: low
| Market | US stocks |
|---|---|
| Sector | Information Technology |
| Industry | Systems Software |
| Market cap | $3.9T |
| Close on 11/04/2026 | 556.03 |
| Change that session | +6.73% |
AAPL
▼ Likely negativeApple Inc.
Relevance: low
| Market | US stocks |
|---|---|
| Sector | Information Technology |
| Industry | Technology Hardware, Storage & Peripherals |
| Market cap | $5.1T |
| Close on 11/04/2026 | 349.62 |
| Change that session | +5.34% |
AMZN
▼ Likely negativeAmazon
Relevance: low
| Market | US stocks |
|---|---|
| Sector | Consumer Discretionary |
| Industry | Broadline Retail |
| Market cap | $2.6T |
| Close on 11/04/2026 | 266.14 |
| Change that session | +6.16% |
GOOGL
▼ Likely negativeAlphabet Inc. (Class A)
Relevance: low
| Market | US stocks |
|---|---|
| Sector | Communication Services |
| Industry | Interactive Media & Services |
| Market cap | $3.5T |
| Close on 11/04/2026 | 288.99 |
| Change that session | +3.20% |
META
▼ Likely negativeMeta Platforms
Relevance: low
| Market | US stocks |
|---|---|
| Sector | Communication Services |
| Industry | Interactive Media & Services |
| Market cap | $1.6T |
| Close on 11/04/2026 | 629.89 |
| Change that session | +1.43% |
Impact is scored by AI from the headline and may be wrong. It is not investment advice.
Related news
- Apple just made twice as much free cash as Microsoft, Meta, Alphabet and Amazon combined: Chart of the Day
Apple generated about $136 billion in free cash flow in its fiscal year ended September, up about 38% and above its previous record of about $111 billion in 2022. That is roughly twice the combined four-quarter total of Microsoft, Meta, Alphabet and Amazon, which spent more than $600 billion on capital expenditures, mostly on AI chips and data centers, while Apple spent about $9 billion. Amazon burned through about $42 billion over the past year, a record, Alphabet's free cash flow turned negative in the third quarter, and Meta's went negative for the first time since 2012. Apple returned about $102 billion to shareholders through buybacks and dividends in the year, and its net cash rose to about $57 billion from about $34 billion. CFO Kevan Parekh said Apple will significantly increase its AI investments, mainly through research and development.
- Big Tech Now Spends More on AI Than It Brings In From Operations
Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon, Meta and Oracle spent US$556.9 billion on capital projects, mostly AI data centers, in the first nine months of 2026, while their combined operating cash flow hit a record US$542.9 billion. Free cash flow for the group swung to a US$14 billion deficit from a US$143.5 billion surplus a year earlier, and buybacks fell 83% to US$13.6 billion. Alphabet posted negative free cash flow of US$9.065 billion in the third quarter and has not bought back shares in 2026, instead raising about US$12.4 billion from share sales and US$29 billion from debt. Microsoft still funds its build from operations with US$18.6 billion of free cash flow, though that buffer is shrinking. A JPMorgan analyst said investors care much more about EPS than free cash flow, while Franklin Templeton's Ehren Stanhope warned of greater equity and debt issuance.
- Alphabet Swaps Buybacks for Data Centers. Wall Street Is Getting Nervous
Alphabet is shifting spending from share buybacks to data centers, and Wall Street is growing nervous. Investors will be looking at Google Cloud's AI spending and returns for reassurance.
- IREN Sinks 9% After Report Links It to Microsoft’s AI Spending Delay; Nebius Tumbles 11%, CoreWeave Slides 7%
IREN shares fell 9% to $19.70 after a report, citing unnamed sources, linked delays at its Childress campus in Texas to Microsoft pushing back capital expenditures planned for the September quarter. The Information reported that Microsoft spent $5 billion less on capex than planned, though it is unclear how much of that gap came from IREN's delays, and IREN's multiyear contract calls for Microsoft to spend $9.7 billion leasing GPU servers at Childress. Nebius fell 11% to $125.88 and CoreWeave slid 7% to $44.89, with the sector also under pressure after Democrat Gina Hinojosa defeated incumbent Gov. Greg Abbott, having called for an immediate moratorium on Texas data centers. IREN reports Q1 FY2027 results after the market close on November 5, when analysts expect sales to fall 9% to $221.7 million and an adjusted loss of $0.67 per share.
- Microsoft walks away from AI deal as $170 billion question grows
Microsoft apparently passed on leasing more AI computing power from Nvidia-backed Nscale, declining an optional 500-megawatt expansion at Nscale's Ward County, Texas project. It keeps its existing commitment to lease about 240 megawatts there, and recently exited a rival 50-megawatt Nscale project in Essex, England, after delays pushed its power connection into the 2030s. Its capital expenditure and financing leases totaled $45.2 billion in the September quarter, below forecasts of about $50 billion, and it cut its 2026 investment projection to $170 billion from $175 billion. Concerns about power, equipment and finished data-centre buildings have grown amid potential delays at Nebius and IREN projects, though the article says this does not mean Microsoft is scaling back its AI commitment. Key next steps are Nscale finding replacement clients and Microsoft providing an updated timeline for bringing more computing power online.
- Microsoft Opts Against Expanding Nscale Texas Data Centre Agreement Ahead of Planned $35 Billion IPO
The Financial Times reports that Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) will not exercise an option to expand its Ward County, Texas data centre agreement with British AI infrastructure provider Nscale, as the company prepares a potential IPO valued at about $35 billion. The option would have more than doubled Microsoft's existing lease and could have generated tens of billions of dollars in extra contract revenue, so Nscale must now find other customers for the capacity. Ionic Digital's SEC filings show Nscale has not yet secured power for the remaining capacity, where Microsoft keeps a right of first refusal. Nscale is in talks with several other potential customers, and the decision does not affect its existing $103 billion contract backlog. The company posted a net loss of $1 billion on $141 million revenue in the first half of 2026.
Related markets
Latest news
- Federal Reserve Board announces termination of enforcement action with Allegiant United Holdings, LLC, Nano Financial Holdings, Inc., and Nano Banc
On November 5, 2026, the Federal Reserve Board announced the termination of its enforcement action against Allegiant United Holdings, LLC, Nano Financial Holdings, Inc., and Nano Banc, all based in Irvine, California. The written agreement dated February 24, 2021 was terminated on October 21, 2026.
- NVDA vs AMD: which stock has the better bounce setup
The article argues NVIDIA (NVDA) offers the better short-term rebound setup, not because its trend is healthy but because AMD shows heavier damage and volatility. As of 10:25 AM EST, NVDA was down 7.56% at $185.01 with a daily RSI of 26.9, while AMD fell 14.77% to $416.58 with an RSI of 31.1; AMD's daily ATR of $33.90 is nearly five times NVDA's $7.04. For NVDA, a recovery above $195.18–$197.65 would be the first sign buyers are regaining control, while a break below $190.63 risks a slide toward the weekly $177.97 area. For AMD, the daily S3 near $434.70 sits above the current price, with $416.00–$417.00 acting as immediate but unvalidated support and weekly support near $384.64; the article notes the recent earnings beat has not protected the price in today's session.
- QQQ key support and resistance levels to watch
Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) fell 4.39% to $661.58 as of 10:20 AM EST on November 5, 2026, with the daily technical gauge at Strong Sell and an RSI of 29.7, signaling oversold momentum rather than a confirmed reversal. Immediate support sits at $660.85, today's intraday low, and $657.34, a weekly support level; a break below $657.34 would expose the $631.22–$626.46 zone. Resistance begins at $672.82–$673.91, followed by $680.44–$683.34 and $693.81–$700.03, with a move above $700.03 improving the short-term structure and $716.62 challenging the broader bearish setup. Price is below every major daily moving average, and the daily ADX of 31.3 with negative DI at 44.6 versus positive DI at 16.6 indicates strong downtrend momentum. The article notes deeply oversold indicators could still produce a sharp relief bounce, though oversold conditions can persist during liquidation.
- China's Moonshot AI seeks Nvidia Blackwell access in Europe, CNBC reports
According to CNBC, Chinese AI startup Moonshot AI, known for its Kimi model family, has explored leasing European data center capacity to gain remote access to NVIDIA's Blackwell processors. Discussions with European neocloud providers focused mainly on inference clusters of 8,000 or more Blackwell GPUs, though training capacity was also considered. The talks follow White House claims in July that Moonshot had remotely tapped Blackwell systems in Thailand, while current U.S. export controls ban physical shipments of top-tier accelerators to China but leave cross-border cloud leasing largely outside regulation. European operators have sought 30% to 50% more upfront payment from Moonshot than from non-Chinese clients to offset regulatory risk, and the House passed the Remote Access Security Act in January, which now awaits Senate action. According to the Financial Times, NVIDIA has told cloud partners to allocate at least 51% of their capacity to non-Chinese customers.
- AMD Tumbles 13%, NVIDIA Slides 7% as AI Regulation Fears Hit Chip Stocks; Intel Sinks 8%
AMD shares fell about 13% to $424.36 in morning trading, NVIDIA dropped 7% to $186.81 and Intel slid 8%, as chip stocks sold off on fears that tighter AI rules could follow the midterm elections. Democrats won both chambers of Congress, and Rep. Yassamin Ansari called on November 4 for a pause on advanced AI development until adequate regulations are in place, raising the risk of slower data center buildouts. The article notes AMD had just reported Q3 2026 revenue of $13.38 billion, up 44.7% year over year and above the $13.08 billion consensus, with Data Center revenue up 97% to $8.55 billion and Q4 guidance of about $17 billion. Traders are weighing whether election fears, valuations or sector pressure explain the drop, while NVIDIA's slide reflects concern about infrastructure spending and GPU demand, and Intel and Broadcom also fell less than AMD.
- Meta Has a Capex Guardrail That Few Talk About
Meta plans to spend $135B to $145B on capex in 2026 and has taken a $9.89B charge to settle teen mental health litigation. Management still expects 2026 operating income, excluding the legal charge, to exceed 2025's $83.28B, which the author views as a limit on spending. The company kept paying its $0.525 quarterly dividend even though Q3 free cash flow was -$2.12B. Q3 revenue rose 26.1% to $64.60B. The author kept buying after the stock fell 15.08% over the past month, while noting $18.59B in total teen mental health litigation exposure.
Get the briefing on Telegram or Zalo
Join the Upside Telegram channel or Zalo group for the Vietnam stocks and gold briefing at 8:00 and 19:00 (Vietnam time) on trading days, plus a weekly wrap on Saturday morning.