Big tech stocks plunge billions amid investor concerns over AI spending

The world’s largest technology companies have seen sharp declines in market value this year as investors question whether heavy spending on artificial intelligence (AI) will yield sufficient returns to justify their high valuations.

Microsoft shares have dropped about 17% year-to-date amid concerns over risks to its AI business and growing competition from Google’s Gemini model and Anthropic’s Claude Cowork AI agent, erasing roughly $613 billion from its market value and leaving it at around $2.98 trillion as of Friday.

Amazon has fallen approximately 13.85% in 2026, cutting about $343 billion from its valuation and bringing its total market cap to roughly $2.13 trillion. 

Earlier this month, the company announced plans to increase capital spending by more than 50% this year.

Other tech giants have also experienced losses. Nvidia, Apple, and Alphabet have seen their market values decline by $89.67 billion, $256.44 billion, and $87.96 billion, respectively, to $4.44 trillion, $3.76 trillion, and $3.7 trillion since the start of the year. 

Analysts say the pullback reflects a shift in investor psychology from rewarding long-term AI ambitions to demanding more immediate earnings visibility after years of speculative enthusiasm.

The divergence highlights changing market priorities as AI hype collides with financial realities.