Jefferies Warns AI Capex Tops Dotcom Peak as Corporate Sticker Shock Emerges

On 29 May Jefferies cautioned that AI-related investment has now surpassed the dotcom bubble peak relative to US GDP, with mounting costs triggering corporate pullbacks that could pressure the US Tech 100. The warning follows Peter Schiff’s 28 May critique of $1 trillion annual hyperscaler capex as misallocated capital. Key milestones include surging quarterly capex from Microsoft, Alphabet and Amazon, Nvidia’s record revenue, Micron’s $1 trillion market cap, and Anthropic’s revenue run-rate jumping to $44 billion. Sticker shock, including a reported $500 million Claude bill, has prompted tighter AI usage controls while chip stocks remain elevated.