--- title: Big Tech buybacks fall 83% as AI spending eats the cash,... description: Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon, Meta and Oracle returned 9.3% of their cash to shareholders in the first nine months of 2026, the smallest share in at least 15... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/big-tech-buybacks-fall-83-as-ai-spending-eats-the-cash-reuters-reports-swlphwk08 twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: Big Tech buybacks fall 83% as AI spending eats the cash, Reuters reports | daily.dev og:description: Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon, Meta and Oracle returned 9.3% of their cash to shareholders in the first nine months of 2026, the smallest share in at least 15... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/big-tech-buybacks-fall-83-as-ai-spending-eats-the-cash-reuters-reports-swlphwk08 og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/SWlphWk08.png og:image:alt: Big Tech buybacks fall 83% as AI spending eats the cash, Reuters reports og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Big Tech buybacks fall 83% as AI spending eats the cash, Reuters reports **[The Next Web](https://daily.dev/sources/tnw)** · 3 min read · 0 upvotes · 0 comments ## Summary Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon, Meta and Oracle returned 9.3% of their cash to shareholders in the first nine months of 2026, the smallest share in at least 15 years. Their operating cash flow rose 29% to $542.9bn, but capital spending doubled to $556.9bn, topping cash generated for the first time in data going back to 2011. Buybacks fell 83% to $13.6bn from $81.8bn, while dividends rose to $37bn. Alphabet and Meta bought back no shares this year. The $50.6bn paid out came from cash reserves, borrowing or share sales, and Amazon raised $48.1bn of long-term debt in the third quarter. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Questions this post answers ### How much did Big Tech stock buybacks fall in 2026 due to AI spending? Buybacks from Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon, Meta and Oracle fell 83% to $13.6bn in the first nine months of 2026, down from $81.8bn a year earlier. Combined, the five companies returned just 9.3% of their operating cash flow to shareholders, the smallest share in at least 15 years, down from 27.4%. _Investors weighing AI-heavy tech stocks can track capital allocation shifts like this on daily.dev._ ### Did Alphabet and Meta buy back any shares in 2026? Neither Alphabet nor Meta repurchased any shares in the first nine months of 2026, compared with a combined $66.5bn in buybacks during the same period in 2025. Amazon, which pays no dividend, has not bought back shares since 2022. Microsoft made almost all the remaining buybacks among the group, cutting its own to $4.4bn in the September quarter from $5.7bn. _Those comparing Big Tech capital returns can follow shifts like this on daily.dev._ ### Why is Big Tech capital spending exceeding operating cash flow? Capital spending from Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon, Meta and Oracle doubled to $556.9bn in the first nine months of 2026, topping their combined operating cash flow of $542.9bn for the first time in data going back to 2011. This left a free cash flow deficit of $14bn, versus a $143.5bn surplus a year earlier, driven by heavy AI infrastructure investment. _Developers tracking what AI infrastructure spending means for their employers can follow the trend on daily.dev._ ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [Tech billionaires cashed out $16 billion in 2025 as stocks soared](https://daily.dev/posts/tech-billionaires-cashed-out-16-billion-in-2025-as-stocks-soared-ghfadktrx) · TechCrunch · 1 upvotes · 1 comments - [Apple hits $5tn by sitting out the AI spending race](https://daily.dev/posts/apple-hits-5tn-by-sitting-out-the-ai-spending-race-xgacfshzk) · The Next Web · 0 upvotes · 0 comments --- Tags: [#microsoft](https://daily.dev/tags/microsoft), [#amazon](https://daily.dev/tags/amazon), [#big-tech](https://daily.dev/tags/big-tech) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/big-tech-buybacks-fall-83-as-ai-spending-eats-the-cash-reuters-reports-swlphwk08) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"Big Tech buybacks fall 83% as AI spending eats the cash, Reuters reports","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/big-tech-buybacks-fall-83-as-ai-spending-eats-the-cash-reuters-reports-swlphwk08","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/big-tech-buybacks-fall-83-as-ai-spending-eats-the-cash-reuters-reports-swlphwk08"},"datePublished":"2026-10-31T22:31:23.317Z","dateModified":"2026-10-31T22:31:49.891Z","description":"Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon, Meta and Oracle returned 9.3% of their cash to shareholders in the first nine months of 2026, the smallest share in at least 15...","image":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/90139ccc6884fd89640af0729f427cf5?_a=AQAEuop","thumbnailUrl":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/90139ccc6884fd89640af0729f427cf5?_a=AQAEuop","isAccessibleForFree":true,"articleSection":"The Next Web","inLanguage":"en","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180}},"author":{"@type":"Organization","name":"The Next Web","logo":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/t_logo,f_auto/v1/logos/tnw","url":"https://daily.dev/sources/tnw"},"commentCount":0,"discussionUrl":"https://daily.dev/posts/big-tech-buybacks-fall-83-as-ai-spending-eats-the-cash-reuters-reports-swlphwk08","interactionStatistic":[{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"LikeAction"},"userInteractionCount":0},{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"CommentAction"},"userInteractionCount":0}],"keywords":"microsoft,amazon,big-tech","timeRequired":"PT3M"} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https://daily.dev"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The Next Web","item":"https://daily.dev/sources/tnw"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Big Tech buybacks fall 83% as AI spending eats the cash, Reuters reports"}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"FAQPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/big-tech-buybacks-fall-83-as-ai-spending-eats-the-cash-reuters-reports-swlphwk08#faq","mainEntity":[{"@type":"Question","name":"How much did Big Tech stock buybacks fall in 2026 due to AI spending?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"Buybacks from Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon, Meta and Oracle fell 83% to $13.6bn in the first nine months of 2026, down from $81.8bn a year earlier. Combined, the five companies returned just 9.3% of their operating cash flow to shareholders, the smallest share in at least 15 years, down from 27.4%. Investors weighing AI-heavy tech stocks can track capital allocation shifts like this on daily.dev."}},{"@type":"Question","name":"Did Alphabet and Meta buy back any shares in 2026?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"Neither Alphabet nor Meta repurchased any shares in the first nine months of 2026, compared with a combined $66.5bn in buybacks during the same period in 2025. Amazon, which pays no dividend, has not bought back shares since 2022. Microsoft made almost all the remaining buybacks among the group, cutting its own to $4.4bn in the September quarter from $5.7bn. Those comparing Big Tech capital returns can follow shifts like this on daily.dev."}},{"@type":"Question","name":"Why is Big Tech capital spending exceeding operating cash flow?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"Capital spending from Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon, Meta and Oracle doubled to $556.9bn in the first nine months of 2026, topping their combined operating cash flow of $542.9bn for the first time in data going back to 2011. This left a free cash flow deficit of $14bn, versus a $143.5bn surplus a year earlier, driven by heavy AI infrastructure investment. Developers tracking what AI infrastructure spending means for their employers can follow the trend on daily.dev."}}]} ```