Microsoft's AI Buildout: Costs Growing Nearly Twice as Fast as Revenue

Microsoft deployed roughly $145 billion in capital expenditures across fiscal 2026, with up to two-thirds of quarterly spend on short-lived assets like GPUs and CPUs. Its own guidance showed COGS growth of 21–22% against revenue growth of 14–16% — costs rising nearly twice as fast as the top line. That gap is the number to watch.