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US Hyperscalers to Spend Up to $725 Billion on AI Infrastructure in 2026
The top five US hyperscalers are projecting a combined capital expenditure of $660 billion to $725 billion for 2026, nearly double their 2025 outlays, as the AI build-out shifts from software to physical infrastructure. Microsoft is guiding for roughly $175 billion in adjusted capital expenditure for both FY2026 and FY2027, with two-thirds of quarterly spend going to short-lived assets like CPUs and GPUs and the rest to long-lived data center infrastructure, and it added 1 gigawatt of capacity in Q3 FY2026, doubling its global footprint in two years. Amazon AWS has raised its 2026 capex guidance to approximately $220 billion, with CEO Andy Jassy saying AI capacity is expected to remain constrained through 2027 and contracted demand extending into 2028. Meta saw profit drop 14% in Q2 2026 despite a 28% revenue increase as its build-out, including a 1 gigawatt data center in Ohio and a Louisiana facility that could scale to 5 gigawatts, compressed margins, while Alphabet raised its 2026 capex guidance to as much as $205 billion and its Google Cloud backlog more than doubled year-over-year to $240 billion. The Stargate joint venture involving Oracle, OpenAI and others targets up to $500 billion in infrastructure investment by 2029, and Oracle's FY2026 capex reached $55.7 billion, more than doubling from the previous year.
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Saudi Arabia issues two air-raid warnings over Riyadh after new Houthi attacks
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, faced two air-raid warnings in the early hours of today, September 19, marking the first time the country's capital has seen such alerts since the period when war between the United States and Iran intensified in March and April. Saudi Arabia's early-warning system issued an emergency alert in Riyadh at 4:00 a.m. and again at 6:00 a.m., without disclosing further details. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia's civil defense authority said the danger had ended shortly after both alerts. Other areas across the country received similar warnings throughout the past night, including Jeddah and Yanbu on the Red Sea, as well as Farasan Island in the Red Sea. The warnings came amid a new wave of attacks Saudi Arabia has faced in September, with the Iran-backed Houthis based in Yemen striking cities in western Saudi Arabia, including energy infrastructure, over the past week. The Saudi government said a drone attack from Iraq, home to several Iran-backed armed groups, forced the East-West oil pipeline to halt operations. In addition, attacks on the pipeline and Iran's closure of the Strait of Hormuz have sharply reduced Saudi Arabia's oil exports and created further problems for Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the kingdom's leader. The renewed conflict also risks affecting Saudi Arabia's efforts to attract investment and tourists, part of its push to diversify the country's economic structure. In October, Riyadh is scheduled to host Saudi Arabia's flagship investment conference, the Future Investment Initiative, with the 2026 annual gathering set to welcome several senior Wall Street executives, including JPMorgan Chase & Co CEO Jamie Dimon and David Solomon of Goldman Sachs Group.
NextEra Reaffirms 2026 EPS Guidance as It Advances $67 Billion Dominion Deal
NextEra Energy has reaffirmed its 2026 adjusted EPS guidance of $3.92 to $4.02 and said it is targeting the high end of that range, as it advances a $67 billion all-stock acquisition of Dominion Energy that is expected to close in the second half of 2027. NextEra expects adjusted EPS to grow at a compound annual rate of at least 8% through 2032 and is targeting the same growth rate through 2035 off the 2025 base, while the combined company is expected to deliver 9%+ adjusted EPS growth through 2032 and is targeting the same rate through 2035 off NextEra's 2025 base. The company expects its dividend per share to grow at a roughly 10% annual rate through 2026 off the 2024 base, then 6% a year through 2028 from the 2026 base. To improve the deal's approval chances, the companies submitted an expanded benefits package to Virginia regulators that would double residential bill credits to four years, shield retail customers from grid costs tied to Northern Virginia's AI data centers, and add $100 million to Dominion's low-income bill assistance program through 2038 plus another $100 million for workforce development. If completed, the merger would create the largest US electricity producer, operating the largest natural gas-fired generation fleet in the US and the second-largest nuclear fleet.
