Amazon and Alphabet’s Profits Reveal Circular Nature of A.I. Boom

Tech giants like Amazon and Alphabet have powered the stock market to record highs in recent years, fueled by the growth of their artificial intelligence and cloud computing businesses.

But in recent months, a big driver of those two companies’ profits came from an unusual source: The increasing value of their investment stakes in artificial intelligence companies.

Over 70 percent of Alphabet’s net quarterly income came from investments in other companies, and in particular, in Elon Musk’s SpaceX, according to a recent regulatory filing and analysis from Satori Insights, a financial markets research firm. SpaceX went public in June in the biggest initial public offering ever.

Investment gains also accounted for roughly 65 percent of Amazon’s net income, largely stemming from its stake in Anthropic, a leading A.I. start-up that is also planning to go public.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/14/business/ai-tech-profits.html