Episode summary
Tech Firms Unleash AI Spending Spree; Fed Holds Rates Steady | Bloomberg Daybreak: US Edition
Bloomberg Daybreak: US Edition
· · 16 min
Summary
Big tech’s AI spending spree dominated the morning, with Meta Platforms, Microsoft and others pushing record capital expenditures into chips, servers and data centers. Meta shares rose after the company forecast stronger revenue and said it could spend as much as $135 billion this year on AI, while Mark Zuckerberg argued that 2026 will be the year AI starts to change how work gets done. Microsoft’s spending also hit a record, with fiscal second-quarter capital expenditures of $37.5 billion, but its shares fell because cloud growth was slower than investors wanted and because the company said it was using more GPUs internally rather than renting them out.
Tesla also reshaped the narrative around its business model. Elon Musk said the company is discontinuing the Model S and X as it shifts resources toward autonomy, robotics and AI, and he said Tesla plans to spend $20 billion this year on that transition. Elsewhere in the AI supply chain, reports said Nvidia, Microsoft and Amazon are discussing a possible $60 billion investment in OpenAI, while Chinese officials appear close to approving H200 chip imports. Apple’s upcoming report was framed as another test of whether AI-linked hardware demand and memory costs are lifting or pressuring margins.
The Fed held rates steady, with Jerome Powell saying policymakers are still waiting to see tariff effects before cutting. Gold extended its rally, and the show also touched on Minneapolis immigration tensions, federal budget negotiations, and severe cold and snow risk in the Northeast.
Key takeaways
- Meta’s AI spending plan of as much as $135 billion this year was received positively because the core ad business is accelerating, according to the analyst guest.
- Microsoft’s $37.5 billion in fiscal second-quarter capex unsettled investors because Azure growth missed slightly and the company is using more GPUs internally.
- Elon Musk said Tesla is ending the Model S and X programs and plans to spend $20 billion this year to push further into autonomy, robotics and AI.
- The host said the Fed held rates steady and Jerome Powell is still waiting to see tariff effects before committing to cuts.
- The show said gold is up for a ninth straight day and spot gold has risen nearly 30% this year, driven by a weaker dollar and flight from bonds and currencies.
Notable quotes
“I think that 2026 is going to be the year that AI starts to dramatically change the way that we work”
“Mark Zuckerberg says Meta plans to spend as much as $135 billion this year on AI”
“Capital expenditures for the fiscal second quarter hit 37.5 billion dollars. That's up 66% from a year ago”
“It's it's time to basically bring the Model S and X programs uh to um to an end with an honor honorable discharge”
“The expectation is that we will see uh the effects of um of tariffs flowing through goods prices peaking and then starting to come down”
How the episode opens
Bloomberg Audio Studios, podcasts, radio, news. — Good morning. I'm Nathan Hager — And I'm Karen Moscow. Here are the stories we're following today. — Karen, the market continues to react to big tech earnings we got after the closing bell. This morning, shares of Meta Platforms are surging 7 and a half%. The Facebook owner projections for holiday quarter revenue and gave a strong forecast for the current period. That's offsetting concerns about plans for unprecedented spending on artificial intelligence this year. Here's Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg on the earnings conference call.
I think that 2026 is going to be the year that AI starts to dramatically change the way that we work. As we navigate this, our northstar is building the best place for individuals to make a massive impact. So to do this, we're investing in AI native tooling so individuals at Meta can get more done.
We're elevating individual contributors and flattening teams. We're starting to see projects that used to require big teams now be accomplished by a single very talented person.
Mark Zuckerberg says Meta plans to spend as much as $135 billion this year on AI. — Meanwhile, Nathan at Microsoft spending surged to a record high while cloud sales growth slowed. that has shares of Microsoft down more than 6% this morning. Capital expenditures for the fiscal second quarter hit 37.5 billion dollars. That's up 66% from a year ago. And here's CEO Satya Nadella on the company conference call.
We are in the beginning phases of AI diffusion and its broad GDP impact. Our TAM will grow substantially across every layer of the tech stack as this diffusion accelerates and spreads. In fact, even in this early innings, we have built an AI business that is larger than some of our biggest franchises that took decades to build.
From the episode’s captions: roughly the first two minutes, lightly cleaned. Keep watching on YouTube →
Topics
- ai spending spree
- chip and hardware capex
- fed rates steady
- tesla capex robotics and ai
- ai demand outlook
Companies and tickers mentioned
- META
- MSFT
- AMZN
- GOOGL
- GOOG
- TSLA
- Samsung Electronics Co.
- SK Hynix Inc.
- Meta Platforms Inc.
- Microsoft
- Amazon.com Inc.
- Alphabet Inc.
- Tesla Inc.
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Summary, takeaways and quote selection by Octagon. Quotes are short excerpts; the full conversation is in the episode.
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