Nov 6 — U.S. midterm elections reveal voter opposition to data center construction, with 40 of 41 restrictive local referendums expected to pass. Although Microsoft and Amazon have invested heavily in data centers, their shares fell only about 2.5% and 1.5% respectively—smaller declines than those of AI cloud computing companies, data center equipment and power suppliers, and other companies across the supply chain, indicating that large tech companies are relatively resilient. The market believes that massive capital expenditures on data centers, combined with excessive chip and supply chain costs, mean investment returns are insufficient to support continued expansion, and that slower construction helps ease capital expenditure pressure and improve free cash flow. Going forward, attention should be paid to the AI and data center regulatory agenda now that Democrats have taken control of Congress, and to how the newly elected Democratic governors of Texas and Ohio will implement their campaign promises to restrict data center construction.