AI Lesson for Microsoft and Google: Spend Money to Make Money

This illustration picture shows icons of Google's AI (Artificial Intelligence) app BardAI (or ChatBot) (C-L), Open AI's app ChatGPT (C-R) and other AI apps on a smartphone screen in Oslo, on July 12, 2023. (Photo by OLIVIER MORIN / AFP)
This illustration picture shows icons of Google's AI (Artificial Intelligence) app BardAI (or ChatBot) (C-L), Open AI's app ChatGPT (C-R) and other AI apps on a smartphone screen in Oslo, on July 12, 2023. (Photo by OLIVIER MORIN / AFP)
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AI Lesson for Microsoft and Google: Spend Money to Make Money

This illustration picture shows icons of Google's AI (Artificial Intelligence) app BardAI (or ChatBot) (C-L), Open AI's app ChatGPT (C-R) and other AI apps on a smartphone screen in Oslo, on July 12, 2023. (Photo by OLIVIER MORIN / AFP)
This illustration picture shows icons of Google's AI (Artificial Intelligence) app BardAI (or ChatBot) (C-L), Open AI's app ChatGPT (C-R) and other AI apps on a smartphone screen in Oslo, on July 12, 2023. (Photo by OLIVIER MORIN / AFP)

Artificial intelligence is expected to pay off big for tech giants including Microsoft and Alphabet someday. But expect deeper investments before gains trickle to the bottom line, the companies said on Tuesday.
Microsoft said costs rose sharply as it built new data centers to support AI and that capital expenditures will continue to rise as it buys chips from the likes of Nvidia Corp to power those data centers, Reuters said.
The Windows maker's shares were down more than 4% in premarket trading on Wednesday, while Alphabet gained nearly 7%.
Microsoft is bearing AI costs in two ways, analysts said: to power its own products such as its forthcoming $30-a-month Copilot AI assistant, and to serve companies wanting to use its Azure cloud computing services to create AI products.
Microsoft executives said the service will start generating the bulk of its revenue in the second half of its fiscal 2024 ending June 30.
"They're buying a bunch of H100s," said Ben Bajarin, chief executive and principal analyst of Creative Strategies, referring to Nvidia's flagship chips for AI.
"You're probably going to see a similar thing with Amazon , if not this quarter then the next quarter, because both of them are the clouds that the vast majority of the market is using for training (AI systems) right now."
Alphabet, however, kept down costs, though not for long. Chief Financial Officer Ruth Porat, who will become president and chief investment officer, said delays in data center construction are why second-quarter capex was lower than expected.
"As far as AI is concerned, while Google may have spent upwards of $200 billion on AI investments over the past decade, much of that isn't necessarily appreciated by users and investors," said Scott Kessler, global sector lead for technology media and telecommunications at Third Bridge.
One advantage Google has, analysts said, is that it has its own custom chip for handling AI work called the Tensor Processor Unit (TPU), which helps lower costs.
Microsoft may be "aggressively buying Nvidia chips, given Microsoft does not have its own silicon as an alternative," said Atlantic Equities analyst James Cordwell.
But Google conceded that it will buy chips from other companies as well as using its own, and Porat said that spending could put a drag on profit and growth.
"The message on inflection point was the same," from Microsoft and Google, said Gene Munster, managing partner at Deepwater Asset Management, "but the difference was Microsoft investors wanted to see more."



US Auto Sales Set to Modestly Rise in First Quarter as Tariffs Signal Bumpy Ride

New vehicles are seen at a parking lot in the Port of Richmond, at the bay of San Francisco, California June 8, 2023. REUTERS/Carlos Barria/File Photo
New vehicles are seen at a parking lot in the Port of Richmond, at the bay of San Francisco, California June 8, 2023. REUTERS/Carlos Barria/File Photo
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US Auto Sales Set to Modestly Rise in First Quarter as Tariffs Signal Bumpy Ride

New vehicles are seen at a parking lot in the Port of Richmond, at the bay of San Francisco, California June 8, 2023. REUTERS/Carlos Barria/File Photo
New vehicles are seen at a parking lot in the Port of Richmond, at the bay of San Francisco, California June 8, 2023. REUTERS/Carlos Barria/File Photo

US auto sales likely inched higher in the first three months of the year on steady demand, data from the carmakers will show on Tuesday, as the industry braces for the fallout of President Donald Trump's latest tariffs.

Market research firm Cox Automotive has estimated that US new-vehicle sales volume increased 0.6% to 3.79 million units in the first quarter from a year earlier.

"Automotive tariffs — now set to take effect on April 2 — might have pulled ahead some vehicle purchases in Q1," said Jessica Caldwell, head of insights at automotive data provider Edmunds.

General Motors pickup trucks and SUVs are expected to help it retain its top spot in the quarter, followed by Toyota Motor's North America unit and Ford, according to Cox, Reuters reported.

Electric-vehicle maker Tesla is also forecast to report a drop in first-quarter vehicle deliveries on Wednesday.

President Trump's move to levy tariffs on US auto imports is widely seen as weighing on consumer sentiment and forcing a rethink on purchases.

The tariffs could also reduce the number of lower-cost imported vehicles on the market, such as Ford's compact Maverick pickup truck, further straining affordability as the average new-vehicle price nears $50,000.

"The potential for higher inflation due to new tariffs at American borders will all potentially hold back new-vehicle sales in 2025," Cox said.

Caldwell said tariffs would likely create challenges for the industry in the second quarter and beyond and expects discounts to be "harder to come by".