Q1 2026 Data Center Capex: Amazon $200B, Google $185B (The Hyperscaler Scorecard)
Amazon leads with $200B+ in forward guidance, but the real story is the mid-cap surge. Here is what the numbers say about where infrastructure dollars are flowing.
Q1 2026 scorecard, published April 7, 2026. Every guidance figure below is as reported that quarter.
The Big Picture
The data center buildout continues to accelerate. Our tracker now covers 40+ companies across the supply chain, and the aggregate forward capex commitments are staggering.
Top 5 Spenders by FY26 Forward Guidance
| Company | FY26 Guidance | YoY Change |
|---------|--------------|------------|
| Amazon (AMZN) | $200B+ | +40% |
| Google (GOOGL) | $175-185B | +35% |
| Meta (META) | $115-135B | +45% |
| Microsoft (MSFT) | $120B+ | +30% |
| Oracle (ORCL) | $50B | +60% |
The Mid-Cap Surge
What is more interesting than the hyperscaler spending is the acceleration in mid-cap infrastructure companies. Companies like Vertiv, Eaton, and Schneider Electric are seeing order backlogs at all-time highs.
"We have never seen demand signals like this. Our backlog extends through 2028." (Vertiv CFO, Q4 2025 earnings call)
What This Means for Investors
Guidance is a number on a slide. The spending only turns real as permits, substations and steel, so the way to check whether the mid-cap order books hold is the construction pipeline: what is permitted, what is under construction, and which companies are named on each campus. Those rows sit in the project directory, each one carrying the source behind its figures.
Key Takeaways
- Forward guidance aggregates to $900B+ across tracked companies
- Power infrastructure is the primary bottleneck (utilities cannot interconnect fast enough)
- Lead times for transformers remain elevated at 52-78 weeks
- The "picks and shovels" thesis remains intact