Amazon, Intel Q3 results miss as AI spending concerns weigh

The underwhelming results from Amazon and Intel follow a string of disappointing figures from other large technology companies, a pattern that has weighed on markets. Amazon's $200 billion in third-quarter revenues, while substantial, did not reassure investors who are increasingly focused on the cost side of the AI buildout. Surging debt and financing costs are outpacing revenues and pushing firms into negative cash flows, a dynamic that appears to be driving the cautious mood. Intel's weak fourth-quarter sales projections added to the gloom, sending its stock down 20% in after-hours trading.

This comes as AI investment has recently become the single-biggest spending spree in American history, even as opposition to the technology and the data centers it relies on rises. The gap between the scale of spending and the returns investors can see is now the central question. As one investor told Bloomberg, the market is "scratching its head — how does all this pay off?"