NEW YORK, Feb 24, 2026, 10:02 EST — Regular session
- Amazon shares barely budged early Tuesday, following news of its $12 billion Louisiana data-center plan.
- Big Tech’s ballooning AI infrastructure budgets are leaving investors with plenty to chew on, especially as cash flow takes a hit.
- All eyes now turn to Nvidia, with its results landing Wednesday—a key gauge for how AI demand is really holding up.
Amazon.com shares slipped 0.1% to $205.16 in Tuesday morning trading, following Monday’s 2.3% drop as the market digested the tech giant’s fresh data-center investment. On Monday, Amazon announced it will spend $12 billion expanding its computing infrastructure in Louisiana. The stock has lost 9.4% year-to-date. 1
Why it matters now: Wall Street’s nerves are showing over how long major cloud players can keep pouring money into artificial intelligence without seeing obvious returns. Bridgewater Associates puts the expected AI-related infrastructure spend by Amazon, Microsoft, Meta and Alphabet at about $650 billion for 2026, jumping from $410 billion in 2025, and doesn’t mince words about the mounting risks as the boom rolls on. “Compute demand continues to significantly outpace supply,” wrote Bridgewater co-chief investment officer Greg Jensen in a client note. 2
The focus now shifts to Nvidia, which is due to publish its results on Wednesday—an event investors are eyeing closely as a test of demand for AI hardware and a window into cloud giants’ spending plans. “People are so concerned about AI spending — whether we’re in a bubble,” said Ivana Delevska, chief investment officer at Spear Invest. 3
Amazon is laying out plans for new data center campuses in Louisiana’s Caddo and Bossier parishes. The company expects the project to generate 540 full-time jobs on site, plus support another 1,710 roles around the community. Amazon also intends to cover the cost of energy and utility infrastructure for the buildout. “Amazon’s $12 billion investment in northwest Louisiana will build next-generation data center campuses to support AI and cloud computing,” said David Zapolsky, Amazon’s chief global affairs and legal officer. 4
The market’s not doing retailers any favors right now. U.S. consumer confidence edged higher in February, but the index is still volatile—retailers watch it closely for early signs of changes in discretionary spending, which often hit online sales fastest. The Conference Board reported Tuesday that its consumer confidence index moved up to 91.2 in February, from a revised 89.0 for January. 5
With Amazon, the focus isn’t just on this state news—it’s the tempo of capital spending that’s raising questions. Long-term outlays keep eating into free cash flow, building out infrastructure. Lately, investors seem to be running out of patience, pressing Amazon on when all these new servers will actually show up as stronger AWS growth and higher margins.
Competition is intense. Amazon Web Services faces off against Microsoft and Alphabet for AI workloads. Chip supply and power are now serious bottlenecks—those two factors limit how fast new capacity can actually launch. So when any sign pops up that demand is still exceeding supply, rather than just moving from one provider to another, it stands out.
The downside’s not hard to picture. Should AI spending lose steam, or buyers hold off on big orders following a brisk 2025–2026 buildout, that investment cycle now fueling growth quickly becomes overhang. Add in pricier electricity or local permit delays, and projects could easily stall.
Amazon’s big infrastructure projects bring another kind of risk: local backlash, environmental reviews, and holdups that drag out schedules and cloud any calculations about returns. These don’t make a dent in quarterly revenue—until suddenly, they do.
Nvidia reports earnings after the bell Wednesday, Feb. 25, setting up the next real catalyst for traders looking to gauge whether AI momentum is picking up speed or just costing more to maintain.
