US Big Tech Will Spend $650 Billion on AI in 2026- These ASX Stocks Are Set to Benefit

ASX stocks to watch as Big Tech ramps AI spend

While US tech giants spend heavily on AI, the real winners may be hiding elsewhere. Meta, Microsoft, Amazon and Alphabet plan to spend a combined US$650 billion on AI infrastructure in 2026, roughly 60% more than last year. Wall Street hated it. The four companies have lost more than US$950 billion in market value since revealing these plans, as investors worry the spending may never pay off. But here is the thing, that US$650 billion does not just disappear. It flows into data centres, power grids and copper cables. And for ASX investors, that is where the opportunity gets interesting. While Big Tech shareholders bear the pain of massive capital spending, Australian companies supplying the picks and shovels of the AI boom stand to benefit directly.

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Where Does the US$650 Billion Actually Go?

Most of this spending goes toward building massive data centres, buying the AI chips inside them, and powering the whole lot. Goldman Sachs expects global data centre power demand to jump 165% by 2030, while Morgan Stanley forecasts data centre copper use could reach nearly one million tonnes by 2027.

Australia is part of this buildout, with local data centre capacity expected to more than double to over 3,100 MW by 2030. That creates opportunities across ASX data centres, energy, copper and property. The question for investors is which stocks still offer good value.

5 ASX Stocks Positioned to Benefit

NextDC (ASX:NXT) is Australia’s largest listed data centre operator and the most direct play on this theme. It has signed a memorandum of understanding with OpenAI to develop a major AI campus in Western Sydney, and contracted capacity jumped 30% to 412 MW in its December 2025 update. The stock is down over 25% from its 52-week high, with Morgans holding an A$19 price target, roughly 50% above current levels. The catch is that NextDC is still in a heavy investment phase, with high depreciation costs keeping statutory profits at bay as it scales.

Goodman Group (ASX: GMG) has quietly shifted into data centres in a big way. Its development pipeline is projected to exceed A$17.5 billion by June 2026, with nearly 75% focused on data centres. A global power bank of 5 GW across 13 cities gives it a major competitive advantage, while a A$14 billion European partnership with CPP Investments adds further scale. At around A$29, the stock sits near Morningstar’s fair value, suggesting the pivot is largely priced in, though development returns remain appealing.

AGL Energy (ASX: AGL) offers a different angle: power. Data centres are hungry for electricity, and AGL already supplies companies like Microsoft. Its A$3 billion Pottinger Energy Park (1,300 MW wind plus 500 MW battery) secured final federal environmental approval in September 2025, with construction slated for late 2026. That gives AGL long-term exposure to rising data centre demand without sky-high tech valuations.

Sandfire Resources (ASX: SFR) is a pure copper producer, and copper is essential for data centres; a single large facility can use up to 50,000 tonnes. Sandfire delivered record production in FY25 and improved unit costs by roughly 20% at its Motheo site. However, after rallying around 94% in 2025, much of the good news is already in the price.

Megaport (ASX: MP1) provides the digital plumbing that connects over 1,000 data centres across 26 countries. Its recent Latitude.sh acquisition adds computing services. At around A$12, analysts see roughly 40% upside, but ongoing losses and recent capital raises mean this is a higher-risk pick.

The Investor’s Takeaway

The most well-known AI plays on the ASX- NextDC and Goodman, are priced accordingly. We believe the better risk-reward may sit with energy and copper names like AGL and Sandfire, which offer solid exposure without the premium price tags. The main risk across all five is execution; data centre projects face power constraints, approval delays and rising costs. But with US$650 billion locked in for this year, the demand is not in question. The opportunity is real, the key is finding the right entry points.