Nasdaq futures fall 1% as Alphabet results intensify AI spending fears

Nasdaq 100 futures dropped about 1% after Alphabet's earnings report raised concerns that heavy artificial intelligence capital expenditure will weigh on margins and free cash flow across the megacap technology complex. The transmission channel here is risk appetite and multiple compression: investors who had priced in durable AI-driven earnings growth are now reassessing how much of the spending will translate into near-term profit, which pressures growth-heavy valuations. Alphabet itself (GOOGL) is the direct focus, but the exposure extends to Microsoft (MSFT), Amazon (AMZN) and Meta-linked infrastructure demand, while semiconductor and data-center names such as NVDA, AMD and INTC are sensitive to any signal that hyperscaler capex may plateau. Salesforce (CRM), with its software-led AI monetization story, faces a secondary read-through if investors begin questioning the payback timeline on enterprise AI spending. Traders will watch the next round of hyperscaler capex guidance and the upcoming Nvidia earnings release for confirmation of whether AI infrastructure demand is sustaining its trajectory

The Nasdaq-100 (NDX) is the US large-cap tech benchmark. NDX is more sensitive to rate decisions than SPX because of longer-duration cash flows, and heavily concentrated in Tech/Comms names — mega-cap earnings season dominates price action.

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