Big tech sheds $3.7 trillion in October as AI spending doubts mount
Tech stocks lost $3.7 trillion in October as investors grew skeptical of heavy AI and data centre spending.
The US tech-dominated Nasdaq index suffered its worst month in recent times, shedding approximately $3.7 trillion in market value. Alphabet, owner of Google, took the biggest hit after a 12.6% single-day plunge wiped $712 billion in value.
Google's AI features are consuming search advertising revenue, the company acknowledged. Meta, Facebook's owner, fell 15% after announcing a record equity fundraising plan of up to $97.5 billion to offset sprawling AI infrastructure.
Amazon shares dropped 5.6% on projections of $220 billion in capital expenditure. Intel crashed 29%, its worst day since 1974.
Investors now fear the AI arms race, with heavy spending by tech giants on data centres and custom chips yet to deliver real returns.
- $3.7 trillion
- Market loss in October
- $712 billion
- Alphabet single-day loss
- 1974
- Intel's worst day since
- $97.5 billion
- Meta's AI fundraising plan
Why it mattersMarkets this volatile affect retirement savings and investment funds that Australian investors hold through superannuation.
AustraliaAustralian superannuation funds and managed portfolios tracking US tech stocks absorbed significant losses; further weakness would pressure returns this quarter.
✓ Claims checked against the source and corrected before publish. checked 4 h ago
