The Magnificent Seven, that now-familiar cluster of Apple, Microsoft, Nvidia, Amazon, Alphabet, Meta, and Tesla, delivered 21-22% earnings-per-share growth in recent quarters. That figure dwarfs what the rest of the S&P 500 managed. The engine behind it all: artificial intelligence, and specifically, the insatiable corporate appetite for the infrastructure to run it.
Nvidia leads, but the bill is coming due
Nvidia remains the clearest beneficiary of the AI gold rush. The chipmaker posted revenue growth exceeding 114% in fiscal year 2025, powered almost entirely by demand for its AI processors.
The hyperscalers, Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet, and Meta, all reported strong top-line growth as well. Cloud computing divisions are expanding, AI product integrations are multiplying, and enterprise customers are lining up to pay for generative AI tools.
Capital expenditures across the major hyperscalers are projected to reach hundreds of billions of dollars annually, all directed at AI infrastructure and data centers. Microsoft and Amazon have both signaled that AI-related revenue is ramping, but the payback period on data center buildouts stretches years into the future.
