Analysis:Among AI crowd, some investors position for slower hyperscaler spending growth

MILAN, July 17 : The parabolic rally in AI chipmakers has run into turbulence amid concern about valuations and the sustainability of their bumper revenues, with some investors quietly positioning for a slowdown in the near-trillion dollar spending boom that could provide a boon to the hyperscalers footing the bill. For most of the past two years, the opposite trade prevailed: investors piled into semiconductor and infrastructure companies on the assumption that Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet and Meta would keep accelerating spending on the buildout of data centers. But that spending now looks set to slow, with UBS estimating hyperscalers' capex will rise 76 per cent this year to $673 billion, but will increase by only 25 per cent next year and just 6 per cent in 2028.Some active managers hav