AI Land Grab Competition Worries Overshadow Earnings Results On Wall Street

Barry Adams
06 Feb, 2026
New York City

Market sentiment remained fragile on Wall Street amid growing worries about elevated AI data center spending. 

The S&P 500 index and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite struggled to stay above the flatline, following a rough session on Thursday. 

Investors shifted their focus to elevated artificial intelligence infrastructure and lagging returns as leading tech companies announced multi-billion-dollar spending in 2026. 

Amazon.com plunged as much as 9% after the e-commerce platform operator estimated $200 billion in capital spending in 2026, higher than the $185 billion estimate announced by Google parent Alphabet. 

Amazon, Alphabet, Meta, and Microsoft are looking to spend as much as $650 billion in AI-related capital spending, sharply higher than $410 billion in 2025 and $245 billion in 2024. 

For the week so far, the S&P 500 index is down 2%, and the tech-focused Nasdaq Composite dropped 4% amid high anxieties about the future revenue growth outlook for software services providers and uncertain returns from elevated AI infrastructure investing.  

 

U.S. Movers 

Amazon.com dropped 9% to $202.87 after the e-commerce company reported weaker-than-expected earnings in the fourth quarter.

The global e-commerce company estimated $200 billion in capital expenditures for 2026. 

Ralph Lauren declined 4.5% to $338.66 after the apparel designer reported better-than-expected fiscal third-quarter results, as investors focused on depressed margins because of higher U.S. tariffs. 

Revenue increased 12% to $2.41 billion from $2.14 billion, net income rose to $361.6 million from $297.4 million, and diluted earnings per share advanced to $5.88 from $4.66 a year ago. 

Sales were driven by gains across all geographies and gains in direct sales to consumers, driven by a 22% increase in Asia, slower growth of 12% in Europe, and high single-digit increases in North America.

The company revised higher its full-year fiscal 2026 revenue growth estimate in constant currency in the high-single- to low-double-digit range and operating margin widening of roughly 100 to 140 basis points.