Big Tech Stock Buybacks Vanish as AI Spending Spree Eats Up Cash

The artificial-intelligence race is becoming so expensive that it’s snuffing out one of the key forces that has helped keep Big Tech stocks soaring for years: steady share buybacks.

Of the four biggest AI spenders — Alphabet Inc., Microsoft Corp., Meta Platforms Inc. and Amazon.com Inc. — only Microsoft bought back shares in the first quarter. And its $3.4 billion in repurchases was the lowest total among the group in nearly a decade, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

“The amount of capex that’s being spent is dramatically higher than even the high end of what anyone would ...