Four of the largest mega-cap technology companies are forecast to spend a combined $625 billion or more on new data centers and artificial intelligence infrastructure this year in a feverish race to dominate the market for AI tools and applications. The four companies and their estimated AI capital expenditure plans for 2026 are:
|
Hyperscaler |
2026 Spending Plan |
|---|---|
|
$185 billion | |
|
Amazon (AMZN 1.52%) |
$200 billion |
|
Meta Platforms (META 2.52%) |
$135 billion |
|
Microsoft (MSFT 0.73%) |
$105 billion |
Analysts and investors are not yet convinced that those spending plans will be uniformly positive for profits, and thus for shareholders of the four tech giants.
In fact, last week, shares of Microsoft plummeted 11% in a day -- the largest one-day drop in the tech giant's stock since March 2020. The company's quarterly results showed slowing revenue growth from its Azure cloud computing unit, which reflects AI demand, coupled with accelerated plans for data center spending this year.
Plus, the four companies are competing against each other for AI customers. So perhaps those four are not the way to benefit from the massive buildout of AI infrastructure -- unless you're certain right now about which ones will prevail in the AI race.
Data center and AI infrastructure providers are well positioned
But someone will surely benefit from that massive outlay of funds on AI data centers and infrastructure, right? If so, what's the best way for an investor to benefit? I think the Global X Data Center and Digital Infrastructure ETF (DTCR 2.12%) is a great way to play the rapidly growing AI spending trend.
NASDAQ: DTCR
Key Data Points
DTCR tries to mirror the performance of the Solactive Data Center REITs & Digital Infrastructure index, which tracks companies focused on data centers, cellular towers, and related digital infrastructure hardware.
To be eligible for inclusion in the DTCR ETF, companies need to generate at least half their revenue from data center and/or cellular tower-related business operations. This includes companies that own, operate, and/or develop data centers (including data center REITs), cellular towers (including cellular tower REITs), or manufacturers of servers and/or other hardware often used in data centers and cellular towers, including semiconductors, integrated circuits, and processors.
Image source: Getty Images.
The ETF currently has $1.1 billion in assets under management and has provided investors with a 13.3% return so far in 2026 and a 41.3% gain over the past 52 weeks.
Grand View Research estimates that the data center construction market will grow from $241 billion in 2024 to $456 billion by 2030, for a compound annual growth rate of 11.8%.
The AI buildout is real and continues to accelerate. It may not yet be clear which hyperscalers will win the AI race, but the companies involved in building data centers and infrastructure for them seem poised to benefit in a big way.
