Google outpaces rivals as Big Tech’s AI spending plans rise to $725bn

google's parent alphabet reported cloud revenue growing faster than amazon and microsoft, helping it outpace big tech rivals in the latest quarter. meta's stock fell after it raised its capital expenditure forecast, adding to a broader picture where the five largest tech companies are now on track to spend a combined $725bn on ai infrastructure this year. alphabet's cloud business grew 35% year-over-year, beating amazon web services at 19% and microsoft azure at 33%. meta's capex guidance for 2025 now sits at $60-65bn, up from a prior $55-60bn range, which spooked investors and sent shares down about 5% after hours. google's parent also announced a $70bn buyback authorization.