Microsoft Corporation (MSFT)

Apple's biggest weakness for a large chunk of 2025 is becoming a strength in the early weeks of 2026 as convulsions rock the AI trade.

U.S. technology giants Alphabet, Amazon, Meta and Microsoft are expected to collectively invest about $650 billion to scale up AI-related infrastructure this ‌year, according to an analysis by Bridgewater Associates. The investments would mark ‌a sharp increase from $410 billion in 2025. In a letter to clients, Bridgewater co-chief investment officer Greg Jensen ​said the artificial intelligence boom has entered a "more dangerous phase," marked by exponentially rising investments in physical infrastructure and growing reliance on outside capital.

Capex boom draws historical parallels

Microsoft's blowout Q2 is overshadowed by a 66% capex surge, as investors question whether AI spending is racing ahead of revenue payoff.

Chairman Chey Tae-won of SK Hynix's (HXSCL) parent SK Group has signaled that the company intends to deepen its exposure to the artificial intelligence buildout, pledging to expand production of high-bandwidth memory chips as global data center demand accelerates. Speaking in Washington on Feb. 20, Chey described HBM as a monster chip that is generating enormous profits for SK Hynix, underscoring how central the product has become to the AI hardware stack. The backdrop is a sharp re-rating in SK Hynix's shares, which have more than quadrupled over the past year on record earnings, reflecting investor conviction that advanced memory remains a critical bottleneck in the AI supply chain.

ADBE shares sit 43% below their 52-week high as AI ambitions and fierce competition cloud near-term prospects despite solid fiscal 2026 growth targets.

CRWD is leveraging partnerships with Microsoft, Qualtrics and others to expand Falcon's reach and fuel its next growth phase.