The four hyperscalers will report this week on what is now, collectively, around six hundred billion dollars of committed 2026 capital expenditure.
That is either the largest coordinated infrastructure buildout in the history of private capital or — to use a more honest description — four companies spending a country’s GDP on the assumption that the other three will keep spending too. The assumption is probably right. It usually is.
What matters, if you are holding any of this in size, is the shape of the return curve rather than the buildout itself.
Deep dive · 02
Capital intensity compresses returns for the companies doing the spending.
The beneficiaries are one layer down — at the orchestration, security, and application tiers where capital-light businesses get paid to use the infrastructure without funding it…