A sharp increase in market value for two major technology giants, driven by their aggressive investment plans, gives me an itchy raised eyebrow. Microsoft and Meta experienced a combined boost of half a trillion dollars in market capitalization within just ten minutes.

Microsoft forecast on Wednesday a record $30 billion in capital spending for the current fiscal first quarter, after booming sales in its Azure cloud computing business showcased the growing returns on its massive bets on artificial intelligence.

Earnings season for a handful of megacap tech firms has morphed into capex season with the AI arms race showing no signs of slowing.