Big Tech's Free Cash Flow Turns Negative

In Jul–Sep 2026, Amazon, Alphabet, Microsoft and Meta spent $201.9B on purchases of property and equipment (Amazon $77.3B, Alphabet $51.4B, Microsoft $39.4B, Meta $33.9B), about 2.08x the $97.3B a year earlier, per their SEC filings. Combined operating cash flow was $175.5B, so combined free cash flow was −$26.4B, the first time negative for the four combined; only Microsoft was positive, at +$18.6B. Free cash flow here is operating cash flow minus purchases of property and equipment, finance leases excluded (CNBC, 30 Oct 2026).