CITIC Construction Investment forecasts that, by the second quarter of 2026, the capital expenditures of several prominent cloud providers in North America will persist in their high-growth trend. Based on industry guidance, the anticipated total capital expenditures for these four major cloud providers in 2026 are projected to range from USD 720 billion to USD 745 billion, underscoring their continued extensive expansion focused on AI infrastructure. Although the AI computing power industry chain is currently thriving, the market has undergone substantial corrections recently, a phenomenon that CITIC Construction Investment deems an overreaction. Moving forward, CITIC Construction Investment recommends paying attention to the following aspects: Firstly, the growth in Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) for large-scale models, especially in coding applications; Secondly, the deployment and advancement of large-scale models in diverse application scenarios; Thirdly, the pricing trends within the computing power supply chain; and Fourthly, the financing conditions and market risk sentiment across different segments of the AI industry chain. Moreover, considering the significant investments in the AI industry chain during the second quarter and the recent market corrections, which show clear indications of a shift between high and low valuations, it is prudent to focus on investment opportunities that offer low valuations and high dividends.
