Goldman Sachs says the era of buybacks is over as capital floods into data centers

Industry Impact 4
โดย Fortune·Read original
Summary · why it matters

Goldman Sachs' global strategy team declared that the world has entered a new investment era defined by a synchronized surge in capital spending, replacing the decades-long dominance of buybacks and cheap capital. In a research paper published Tuesday, chief global equity strategist Peter Oppenheimer argued that rising real interest rates, geopolitical fragmentation, and massive AI infrastructure demand are driving a capex boom unseen since the postwar era. The top five hyperscalers—Amazon, Meta, Google, Microsoft, and Oracle—are expected to spend approximately $755 billion on capex in 2026, up 84% from 2024, with consensus estimates for 2027 reaching roughly $920 billion. S&P 500 companies reported year-over-year capex growth of +38% in Q1 2026, compared to just +1% for buybacks, an almost exact inversion of the prior cycle. Goldman recommends investors build exposure to a basket of roughly 50 global capex beneficiaries, including ASML, Lam Research, Schneider Electric, Broadcom, and Vistra, which is up roughly 25% year-to-date.

Impact on stocks 11

Artificial Intelligence▲ · 6 stocks
Broadcom Inc
AVGO
▲ PositiveCapitalrelevance

Named as a beneficiary of the capex boom driven by hyperscaler AI infrastructure spending.

Semiconductors▲ · 2 stocks
ASML Holding N.V.
ASML
▲ PositiveCapitalrelevance

Named as a beneficiary of the capex boom driven by hyperscaler AI infrastructure spending.

Lam Research Corp
LRCX
▲ PositiveCapitalrelevance

Named as a beneficiary of the capex boom driven by hyperscaler AI infrastructure spending.

Energy Transition & Power Demand▲ · 1 stocks
Vistra Corp.
VST
▲ PositiveCapitalrelevance

Named as a beneficiary of the capex boom driven by hyperscaler AI infrastructure spending.

Financials▲ · 1 stocks
Cloud & Digital Infrastructure▲ · 1 stocks

Theme Impact 7

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