US stock futures and Asian markets fell on growing concern that an AI boom is turning to bust. Worries have coalesced around whether public opposition or supply chain constraints will limit the buildout, and if revenues will keep up with Big Tech’s breakneck infrastructure spending.
An Australian data center operator’s profit warning drove its stock down as much as 44%, while dozens of large facilities have been blocked or delayed in the US this year by opposition from locals. As Apollo’s chief economist noted, a slowdown in spending on compute tokens suggests “productivity returns for firms on their AI investments are either arriving far slower than projected or failing to materialize at all,” with knock-on effects for AI firms’ revenues.
