- Amazon, Alphabet, Meta, Microsoft and Oracle spent $379bn on property and equipment in 2025, up from $24bn in 2015.
- Spending rose 69% in 2025 alone, from $224bn in 2024.
- Amazon spent the most ($132bn), followed by Alphabet ($91.4bn), Meta ($69.7bn), Microsoft ($64.6bn) and Oracle ($21.2bn).
The AI boom shows up most clearly in what the biggest tech companies spend on things they can touch: data centres, servers, chips and the land and power to run them. We took the cash that Amazon, Alphabet, Meta, Microsoft and Oracle report spending on property and equipment in their annual filings with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, and raced them from 2015 to 2025.
From $24bn to $379bn in ten years
Together, the five companies spent $24bn in 2015. In 2025 they spent $379bn, more than 15 times as much. Most of that rise is recent: the total was $149bn in 2023 and $224bn in 2024, so 2025 alone added $154bn, an increase of 69% in a single year.
The pattern isn't a smooth curve. Amazon more than doubled its spending in 2020 as it expanded warehouses and delivery during the pandemic, then cut back in 2023 before AI demand took over. Meta and Microsoft both dipped or slowed around 2023 too. From 2024, every company in the group stepped up at once.
Who spends the most
Amazon spent $132bn in 2025, up 59% on 2024, and has led the group every year since 2020. Alphabet was second at $91.4bn, up 74% in a year. Meta ($69.7bn) and Microsoft ($64.6bn) were close behind. Oracle is far smaller, at $21.2bn, but it has grown the fastest recently: its spending tripled from $6.9bn the year before as it builds data centres to rent to AI companies.
What these numbers do and don't include
These are cash figures from each company's cash flow statement, so they show money actually paid out in the year. Several companies quote a larger headline number that also includes data centres and equipment taken on finance leases; Microsoft's figure for fiscal 2025 including leases was roughly $88bn, against $64.6bn in cash. The figures also cover all property and equipment, not only AI, though the companies say the recent increase is mostly AI infrastructure. Microsoft's fiscal year ends in June and Oracle's in May, so their 2025 figures mostly cover the second half of 2024 and the first half of 2025.
Make this chart with your own numbers
The same two charts work for your own capital plan. A stacked bar chart shows total capex by year with each business unit, site or project as a layer, which is a quick way to show a board where the money is going. A bar chart race makes a strong opener for an investor update when the ranking changes over time. Paste three columns (year, name, value) from Excel or Google Sheets, then download a PNG, MP4 or GIF. The link under each chart above opens it with this post's data already loaded.
Sources and method
- SEC EDGAR: company 10-K filings (XBRL financial data)
- Alphabet investor relations
- Amazon investor relations
- Microsoft investor relations
Cash paid for property and equipment as reported in each company's 10-K cash flow statement (Amazon: purchases of property and equipment); where a figure was restated, the latest filing is used. Finance leases are not included. Microsoft's fiscal year ends in June and Oracle's in May; each is shown by the calendar year in which it ends.