Key Points
-
The demand for AI data centers is so strong that all the major tech companies are going to boost their capital spending.
-
This is great news for Nvidia, considering its position in the AI chip market.
-
Nvidia has built a terrific revenue backlog that could help it outpace Wall Street’s growth expectations next year.
The latest round of quarterly results from technology giants makes it clear that the heavy investments into artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure are not going to slow down anytime soon. That’s great news for investors in Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA), the company that has ridden its way to a $5 trillion market cap thanks to the AI boom.
The earnings reports of Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOG) (NASDAQ: GOOGL), Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: META), and Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) are already out, and all of these tech giants were singing a similar tune with respect to AI-related spending. Let’s take a closer look at their capital expenditure (capex) plans and why they bode well for Nvidia.
Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now. Continue »
Image source: Nvidia.
AI spending could get stronger in 2026
The capex of big tech companies, including Amazon, stood at an estimated $228 billion in 2024, growing from $144 billion the previous year. Bloomberg pointed out in August that the figure is set to rise to $360 billion in 2025, followed by another jump to $439 billion in 2026.
However, it looks like the actual spending by big tech companies is going to exceed those estimates. Meta Platforms, for instance, is now forecasting $71 billion in capex this year at the midpoint of its guidance range. That’s up from its earlier estimate of $69 billion. Meta’s management remarked on the company’s latest earnings call that it continues to witness meaningful expansion in computing capacity.
As a result, the company says that its “capex dollar growth will be notably larger in 2026 than 2025.” What’s more, Meta anticipates that its “total expenses will grow at a significantly faster percentage rate in 2026 than 2025.” It is worth noting that Meta’s 2024 capex stood at $39.2 billion, which means that it is on track to grow that figure by 81% this year. So, Meta’s 2026 capex is likely to exceed the $100 billion mark.
Alphabet, on the other hand, has increased its 2026 capex guidance to $92 billion from the prior expectation of $85 billion. It spent $52.5 billion in capex last year. The fact that Alphabet’s Google Cloud backlog shot up by an impressive 46% in the previous quarter to a sizable $155 billion makes it easy to see why the company is now going to invest more aggressively to bolster its data center infrastructure.
Additionally, Alphabet is witnessing healthy usage of its in-house offerings such as Gemini, AI Overviews, and AI Mode. The search engine giant is now looking at another “significant increase” in its capex in 2026, according to CFO Anat Ashkenazi (via CNBC).
Microsoft, which saw a 51% spike in its remaining performance obligations (RPO) in its latest fiscal quarter to $392 billion, pointed out on the earnings call that “demand remains significantly ahead of the capacity we have available.” The tech giant expects to remain short of data center capacity throughout the fiscal year, and that could spur stronger capital spending.
Microsoft’s capex increased by $10 billion in the first quarter of fiscal 2026 to $34.9 billion, higher than its estimate of $30 billion. The company is now on track to increase its capex at a faster pace this fiscal year as compared to the growth seen last year. That’s a departure from the earlier expectation of a slowdown in capex growth.
As a result, the probability of an acceleration in the outlay on data center equipment, such as the graphics processing units (GPUs) that Nvidia sells, seems quite likely.
Nvidia seems poised for a stronger-than-expected 2026
The latest capex estimates from the three companies that have been deploying Nvidia’s latest generation of Blackwell data center GPUs to handle AI workloads suggest that the company should be able to sustain its outstanding momentum next year. CEO Jensen Huang recently pointed out that the company has shipped 6 million units of its Blackwell processors over the past four quarters. Nvidia started shipping its latest generation of processors in the fourth quarter of 2024.
Huang is projecting shipments of 20 million units of its Blackwell processors, indicating that there is tremendous room for growth in sales of this chip. For comparison, Nvidia sold 4 million units of its previous-generation Hopper processors. That significant spike is going to translate into major top-line gains for Nvidia as the company has secured over $500 billion worth of orders for its chips through the end of next year.
That number includes the orders for its next-generation Rubin processors that are set for launch in 2026. As such, there is a good chance that Nvidia’s revenue in fiscal 2027 (which will begin in January next year) will likely exceed the $285 billion Wall Street estimate. Analysts are projecting a 37% increase in Nvidia’s revenue in fiscal 2027, but that percentage could be higher given the backlog pointed out by Huang.
So, don’t be surprised to see this AI stock heading higher next year as the sustained spending on AI infrastructure is likely to help Nvidia sell more of its chips and fuel stronger growth for the company.
Should you invest $1,000 in Nvidia right now?
Before you buy stock in Nvidia, consider this:
The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Nvidia wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.
Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004… if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $591,613!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005… if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,152,905!*
Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 1,034% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 191% for the S&P 500. Don’t miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor.
*Stock Advisor returns as of November 3, 2025
Harsh Chauhan has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, Amazon, Meta Platforms, Microsoft, and Nvidia. The Motley Fool recommends the following options: long January 2026 $395 calls on Microsoft and short January 2026 $405 calls on Microsoft. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.