Tracker
Hyperscaler cash
This tracks spending by the five largest builders of AI data centres, the cash their businesses bring in and how they cover the gap. Updated after each earnings season.
Capex as a share of cash flow
85%
last four quarters, 5 companies
Negative free cash flow
4 of 5
Alphabet, Amazon, Meta, Oracle
Still buying back shares
1 of 5
Microsoft
Long-term debt added
+$231bn
in a year, to $457bn
Every panel uses the same scale. Shading marks periods when spending exceeded the cash generated by the business.
Operating cash flowCapital spendingSpending above cash flow
Microsoft
Q2 2026 (FY26 Q4), free cash flow $19.6bn
Alphabet
Q2 2026, free cash flow −$5.8bn
Amazon
Q2 2026, free cash flow −$7.7bn
Meta
Q3 2026, free cash flow −$2.1bn
Oracle
Q3 2026 (FY27 Q1), free cash flow −$5.4bn
View the data
| Company | Quarter | Op. cash flow | Capex | Free cash flow | Buybacks | LT debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Microsoft | Q3 2024 (FY25 Q1) | 34.2 | 14.9 | 19.3 | 4.1 | 42.9 |
| Microsoft | Q4 2024 (FY25 Q2) | 22.3 | 15.8 | 6.5 | 5.0 | 39.7 |
| Microsoft | Q1 2025 (FY25 Q3) | 37.0 | 16.8 | 20.3 | 4.8 | 39.9 |
| Microsoft | Q2 2025 (FY25 Q4) | 42.6 | 17.1 | 25.6 | 4.5 | 40.1 |
| Microsoft | Q3 2025 (FY26 Q1) | 45.1 | 19.4 | 25.7 | 5.7 | 35.4 |
| Microsoft | Q4 2025 (FY26 Q2) | 35.8 | 29.9 | 5.9 | 7.4 | 35.4 |
| Microsoft | Q1 2026 (FY26 Q3) | 46.7 | 30.9 | 15.8 | 4.6 | 31.4 |
| Microsoft | Q2 2026 (FY26 Q4) | 55.4 | 35.8 | 19.6 | 4.6 | 31.1 |
| Alphabet | Q3 2024 | 30.7 | 13.1 | 17.6 | 15.3 | 12.3 |
| Alphabet | Q4 2024 | 39.1 | 14.3 | 24.8 | 15.6 | 10.9 |
| Alphabet | Q1 2025 | 36.1 | 17.2 | 18.9 | 15.1 | 10.9 |
| Alphabet | Q2 2025 | 27.8 | 22.4 | 5.3 | 13.2 | 23.6 |
| Alphabet | Q3 2025 | 48.4 | 23.9 | 24.5 | 11.9 | 21.6 |
| Alphabet | Q4 2025 | 52.4 | 27.9 | 24.6 | 5.5 | 46.5 |
| Alphabet | Q1 2026 | 45.8 | 35.7 | 10.1 | 0.0 | 77.5 |
| Alphabet | Q2 2026 | 39.1 | 44.9 | -5.8 | 0.0 | 98.2 |
| Amazon | Q3 2024 | 26.0 | 21.3 | 4.7 | 0.0 | 54.9 |
| Amazon | Q4 2024 | 45.6 | 26.1 | 19.6 | 0.0 | 52.6 |
| Amazon | Q1 2025 | 17.0 | 24.3 | -7.2 | 0.0 | 53.4 |
| Amazon | Q2 2025 | 32.5 | 31.4 | 1.2 | 0.0 | 50.7 |
| Amazon | Q3 2025 | 35.5 | 34.2 | 1.3 | 0.0 | 50.7 |
| Amazon | Q4 2025 | 54.5 | 38.5 | 16.0 | 0.0 | 65.7 |
| Amazon | Q1 2026 | 26.0 | 43.2 | -17.2 | 0.0 | 119.1 |
| Amazon | Q2 2026 | 45.4 | 53.1 | -7.7 | 0.0 | 128.9 |
| Meta | Q4 2024 | 28.0 | 14.8 | 13.2 | 0.0 | 28.8 |
| Meta | Q1 2025 | 24.0 | 13.7 | 10.3 | 12.8 | 28.8 |
| Meta | Q2 2025 | 25.6 | 17.0 | 8.6 | 10.2 | 28.8 |
| Meta | Q3 2025 | 30.0 | 19.4 | 10.6 | 3.3 | 28.8 |
| Meta | Q4 2025 | 36.2 | 22.1 | 14.1 | 0.0 | 58.7 |
| Meta | Q1 2026 | 32.2 | 19.8 | 12.4 | 0.0 | 58.8 |
| Meta | Q2 2026 | 31.9 | 31.1 | 0.8 | 0.0 | 83.7 |
| Meta | Q3 2026 | 32.8 | 34.9 | -2.1 | 0.0 | 80.9 |
| Oracle | Q4 2024 (FY25 Q2) | 1.3 | 4.0 | -2.7 | 0.1 | 80.5 |
| Oracle | Q1 2025 (FY25 Q3) | 5.9 | 5.9 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 88.1 |
| Oracle | Q2 2025 (FY25 Q4) | 6.2 | 9.1 | -2.9 | 0.1 | 85.3 |
| Oracle | Q3 2025 (FY26 Q1) | 8.1 | 8.5 | -0.4 | 0.1 | 82.2 |
| Oracle | Q4 2025 (FY26 Q2) | 2.1 | 12.0 | -10.0 | 0.0 | 100.0 |
| Oracle | Q1 2026 (FY26 Q3) | 7.2 | 18.6 | -11.5 | 0.0 | 124.7 |
| Oracle | Q2 2026 (FY26 Q4) | 14.6 | 16.5 | -1.9 | 0.0 | 122.3 |
| Oracle | Q3 2026 (FY27 Q1) | 23.1 | 28.5 | -5.4 | 0.0 | 117.7 |
All five have reported for Q4 2024 to Q2 2026.
Non-current long-term debt at the same quarter ends.
What they plan to spend
| Microsoft | About $175bn in calendar 2026, after some data-centre leases moved from finance to operating leases, which capex leaves out. Spending in the year to June 2027 to grow |
| Alphabet | $195–205bn in 2026, raised in July from $180–190bn, and expected to increase significantly in 2027 |
| Amazon | About $220bn of cash capex in 2026, raised in July from about $200bn as memory costs rose |
| Meta | $135–145bn in 2026, including finance-lease payments, narrowed in October from $130–145bn |
| Oracle | $90–95bn in the year to May 2027, with no more than $70bn of net cash capex |
What to watch each quarter
- Capital spending against operating cash flow: a figure above one shows funding from outside the business.
- Buybacks: a company that starts buying back shares again gives the clearest sign it sees the period of heavy spending as over.
- New debt and equity in the financing section of the cash flow statement.
- Depreciation growth against revenue growth, showing when spending moves into the income statement.
Method and sources
The figures come from each company's quarterly filings with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, checked 26 October 2026. Free cash flow follows each company's own definition. Amazon calculates it as operating cash flow less purchases of property and equipment net of proceeds from sales and incentives, while Meta also deducts finance-lease payments. Capital spending equals operating cash flow less free cash flow, so the difference matches each company's reported figure. Microsoft's year ends in June, Oracle's ends in May and the labels use the calendar quarter in which they fall. Long-term debt covers the non-current portion. Oracle's operating cash flow for the quarter to August 2026 includes $11.4bn in customer prepayments towards data-centre equipment. Spending plans come from each company's results release or earnings call.