Microsoft, Meta to Feel AI Scrutiny as Investors Wait for Payoff

Ever-growing scrutiny from investors over when the billions spent on artificial intelligence will flow through to sales and profit is set to dominate when Microsoft Corp. and Meta Platforms Inc. report earnings later Wednesday.

Capital expenditure at Microsoft is estimated at about $14.6 billion in the last quarter, a jump of more than 45% from a year earlier, according to estimates compiled by Bloomberg. At Meta, spending is projected to have soared by almost 70% to $11 billion.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella.

Photographer: Dimas Ardian/Bloomberg

“There’s been an enormous amount of capital spent on developing AI — we’re actually looking very specifically to see who ...