Both paths
AMD focus
Alphabet focus
Toggle HBM4/CoWoS gate
Hyperscaler capex cycle forks: AMD accelerator shipments vs Alphabet FCF drag
A single 2026 hyperscaler capex dollar forks at the top. Left: AMD MI450/Helios substrate with HBM4 stack and CoWoS interposer gates, leading to a conditional shipments-ramp terminal. Right: Alphabet capex drains into depreciation drag and a Q2 2026 negative FCF sink, with a $514B backlog return loop and TPU revenue deferred to 2027.
Big Tech 2026 capex ~$700B+
Amazon ~$200B · MSFT ~$190B · GOOGL $195-205B
Meta $115-135B · Goldman: $5.3T cum. through 2030
AMD path
14 GW pipeline
OpenAI 6 · Meta 6 · Anthropic 2
HBM4 stack
8 DRAM + logic die
CoWoS interposer
HBM4
supply gate
CoWoS
capacity gate
click a gate to toggle
MI450/Helios ramp
H2 2026 · forward orders
not contracted revenue
Alphabet path
FY2026 capex $195-205B (raised)
2027 guides up again
Depreciation drag
capex hits P&L over time
3rd-party
capacity
Q2 2026 FCF sink
−$5.9B free cash flow
Q3 2026 margin pressure
depreciation + capacity costs
Cloud backlog $514B
up $50B sequentially
justifies the spend
TPU revenue: 2026 thin
2027 majority
return: demand justifies the drag
AMD accelerator orders (supply-side, gated)
Alphabet capex drain (buyer-side, immediate)
Backlog offset / deferred TPU revenue