Big Tech companies plan to spend massive sums to tie their futures to artificial intelligence, but strong expected cash flow could cushion the surge in investment.

Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon and Meta all expect to generate substantial free cash flow this year even as capital spending on AI infrastructure surges, based on forward-looking guidance. Capex as a percentage of cash flow ranges from Microsoft, at 57%, to Amazon, at 80%.

The data points to sustained confidence in long-term AI infrastructure investment despite the eye-watering scale of spending.