OpenAI's drama could quickly become Big Tech's problem

OpenAI's reported revenue and user shortfalls and a reported feud between its CEO and CFO rattled investors and spilled over into Big Tech's earnings narrative. With Alphabet, Amazon, Meta, and Microsoft reporting after the bell (and Apple set to report Thursday), more than $15 trillion of market capitalization is under scrutiny for AI spending and monetization plans. Public partners tied to OpenAI, such as Oracle, and other AI-linked names saw pressure, and the Nasdaq 100 slid about 1% after the news. The piece warns that if OpenAI's compute-spending economics don’t add up, the same math could pose risks for large tech firms that are aggressively investing in AI — potentially amplifying volatility around earnings and investor sentiment.