Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon, Meta and Oracle returned 9.3% of their operating cash to shareholders in the first three quarters of 2026, the lowest proportion in at least 15 years. They returned 27.4% during the same period a year earlier.
The five companies’ combined capital expenditures, largely for AI, doubled to $556.9 billion. Their record operating cash flow was $542.9 billion. Capital spending exceeded that amount, leaving a combined free cash flow deficit of $14 billion—the first since at least 2011.
Share buybacks fell 83%, from $81.8 billion to $13.6 billion. Alphabet and Meta spent a combined $66.5 billion on repurchases in the first nine months of the prior year, but bought back no shares in 2026. With free cash flow negative, the companies’ $50.6 billion in shareholder payments was financed through reserves, debt or share sales.