Investing Ideas

The new AI playbook: Swapping opex for capex

Companies have been self-funding their massive artificial intelligence (AI) investments, and opex savings could help them continue to do so.

By: Amin Ojjeh Karin Fronczke

Updated: 2/6/2026

Key Takeaways

Despite trillion-dollar ambitions, U.S. public companies have largely financed AI buildouts with free cash flow, avoiding the debt-fueled excesses of past tech cycles.
The operating expenditures (opex) growth of Mag 7 companies has slowed amid capital expenditure (capex) acceleration, providing a potential blueprint for other companies to fund their AI-driven efficiency projects into the future.
Unlike prior investment booms, return on invested capital (ROIC) among major technology firms has remained resilient, suggesting AI is already boosting output and offsetting the heavier capital intensity.

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The new AI playbook: Swapping opex for capex

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