Apple was the only Big Tech company to see capex decline YoY in Q4, dropping 17% to $2.4B. While peers like Google ($175-185B) and Amazon ($200B) plan to spend $660B combined in 2026, Apple forecasts just $14B for 2026 - less than one-tenth of Google's.

Following significant earnings reports, Amazon, Google, and Microsoft experienced a collective market value loss of $900 billion due to investor concerns over escalating AI-related capital expenditures. Despite AWS revenue growth and record-breaking results, investor skepticism persisted, contrasting with Apple's rise, which is attributed to its asset-light AI strategy and lower capital expenditures.