Cloud Giants' AI ROI Compared: Microsoft Adds 1GW/Qtr, Alphabet Least Transparent
BenBajarin · x · 2026-08-04
A breakdown of what major hyperscalers have disclosed regarding AI compute capacity and Return on Invested Capital (ROIC):
- Microsoft: Adding roughly 1 GW per quarter, but only offers qualitative ROIC support.
- Amazon: Provides a directly testable <3-year server break-even point and a multi-generation datacenter return framework.
- Meta: Compute offerings encourage external price discovery but lack realised economics.
- Alphabet: The least transparent, offering neither MW/GW capacity nor asset-level return data despite a $195–205bn capex plan for 2026.
Data Note: Summing GW figures across providers is misleading due to vastly different baselines (geography, facility vs. IT vs. chip load, built vs. leased).
Related event: Big Four Cloud Giants' Q2 Earnings Show Strong AI Demand, Capex Up(2 posts)→
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