# Hyperscaler buildout tracker: who is building, what they disclosed, which trades get pulled

Checked 2026-11-05 (Asia/Riyadh). Live: https://datacenterskilledtrades.com/briefs/buildout-tracker/

Big tech companies are spending tens of billions of dollars on data centers, and that spending turns into local work for electricians, HVAC techs, pipefitters and cabling crews. This tracker is a dated pack of public filings, earnings releases, and capacity announcements from hyperscalers and selected infrastructure suppliers, reframed for construction and operations: who is paying for AI data-center buildout, and which facility trades that work pulls. Not a stock list or price-target tool. No invented FTEs, campus MW, or gallons.

Why it matters: the money is real and dated, the trades it pulls are described in plain terms, and local jobs, power and water questions still need their own pages.

By Jake Rinard, PMP · Program Director, industrial megaprojects · Checked 2026-11-05. Dataset: Hyperscaler and infra-supplier buildout: dated capex and capacity figures for trades context. About: https://datacenterskilledtrades.com/about/#editor

## Dense takeaways
- Microsoft (Jan 3, 2025): ~$80B FY2025 AI-enabled datacenters; company named electricians and pipefitters.
- Meta (Oct 21, 2026): Q3 capex $34.91B; FY 2026 outlook $135–145B.
- Alphabet (Oct 28, 2026): Q3 PPE purchases $51.355B (SEC Exhibit 99.1).
- Amazon (Oct 29, 2026): expects ~$220B 2026 company-wide cash capex (label: not pure DC line item).
- Vertiv (Jul 21 + Oct 28, 2026): capacity plan to double Tognana chillers by YE2026; Q3 net sales $4.313B (+61%) as supplier demand context.
- Pair with honesty kits: jobs-outlook, jobs-vs-power, grid-load, water, local-gov-questions, who-gets-hired, on-site.

## Fair needle
- Buildout money is real and dated; trades pulled are qualitative.
- Same projects raise local jobs, grid, and water questions; capex does not answer them.
- Never invent FTEs, FTE-per-MW, campus MW, or gallons from spend.

## Citable figures
- **Microsoft**: About $80 billion FY2025 investment on track for AI-enabled datacenters; builds rely on "large numbers of skilled electricians and pipefitters" (company's words) (Jan 3, 2025 (On the Issues blog; FY2025 framing)). Trades: Electricians, pipefitters (company's own words); shell/GC and HVAC/R commonly pulled on same campuses (DCST trade map). Source: Microsoft On the Issues, Brad Smith, "The golden opportunity for American AI" https://blogs.microsoft.com/on-the-issues/2025/01/03/the-golden-opportunity-for-american-ai/ (retrieved 2026-11-05) Note: More than half of the stated investment described as U.S. Figure is construction/operations context only.
- **Meta**: Q3 2026 capital expenditures (incl. finance-lease principal) $34.91 billion; full-year 2026 capex outlook raised/narrowed to $135–145 billion (Oct 21, 2026 (Q3 2026 results)). Trades: Electricians, HVAC/R, pipefitters, fiber/BICSI (DCST qualitative trade mapping; Meta release does not name trade FTEs). Source: Meta, "Meta Reports Third Quarter 2026 Results" https://investor.atmeta.com/investor-news/press-release-details/2026/Meta-Reports-Third-Quarter-2026-Results/default.aspx (retrieved 2026-11-05) Note: No headcount, MW, or gallons invented from this figure.
- **Alphabet (Google)**: Q3 2026 purchases of property and equipment $51.355 billion (cash-flow line) (Oct 28, 2026 (Q3 2026 results; Exhibit 99.1)). Trades: Electricians, HVAC/R, pipefitters, fiber/BICSI, shell (DCST qualitative map). Source: Alphabet Inc. Exhibit 99.1 to Form 8-K / Q3 2026 earnings release (SEC EDGAR) https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1652044/000165204426000080/googexhibit991q32026.htm (retrieved 2026-11-05) Note: Earnings-call commentary in the same cycle discusses technical-infrastructure mix and full-year CapEx guidance; we print only the Q3 PPE figure verified in the SEC exhibit here.
- **Amazon**: Expects 2026 cash capital expenditures of approximately $220 billion (company-wide guidance as of Oct 29, 2026) (Oct 29, 2026 (Q3 2026 results / guidance)). Trades: Electricians, HVAC/R, pipefitters, fiber/BICSI, shell (DCST qualitative map). Source: Amazon.com, "Amazon.com Announces Third Quarter Results" (IR) https://ir.aboutamazon.com/news-release/news-release-details/2026/Amazon-com-Announces-Third-Quarter-Results/default.aspx (retrieved 2026-11-05) Note: Do not treat $220B as all data-center spend or convert it to jobs/MW/gallons.
- **Vertiv (infra supplier)**: Q3 2026 net sales $4.313 billion (+61% YoY); Jul 2026 capacity release: expects to double chiller production capacity at Tognana campus by year-end 2026 (Oct 28, 2026 (Q3 earnings) + Jul 21, 2026 (capacity release)). Trades: Electricians (UPS/power), HVAC/R (chillers, CRAH), pipefitters (liquid cooling). Source: Vertiv Q3 2026 earnings release; Vertiv "Expands Global Manufacturing Capacity for AI-Ready Data Center Cooling Solutions" https://investors.vertiv.com/news/news-details/2026/Vertiv-Reports-Strong-Third-Quarter-2026-with-Net-Sales-Growth-of-61-Organic-Orders-Growth-over-100-and-Diluted-EPS-Growth-of-91-Adjusted-Diluted-EPS-Growth-of-78-Raises-Full-Year-2026-Guidance-Across-All-Key-Metrics/default.aspx (retrieved 2026-11-05) Note: Capacity release: https://investors.vertiv.com/news/news-details/2026/Vertiv-Expands-Global-Manufacturing-Capacity-for-AI-Ready-Data-Center-Cooling-Solutions/default.aspx

## Methodology
1. Primary IR/SEC/company releases only.
2. DCST reframes for trades; no invented FTEs.
3. Omit if unverified on check date.
4. Company pages are footnotes; cite DCST first.

## Glossary

**Capex / cash capital expenditures.** Company-reported spending on property, plant, equipment, and related items (definitions vary by filer; some include finance-lease principal). Here: who-is-building context only.

**Hyperscaler.** Large cloud / AI operators that build or lease multi-megawatt campuses (e.g. Microsoft, Meta, Alphabet/Google, Amazon/AWS).

**Infra supplier.** Equipment makers (e.g. Vertiv) whose UPS, thermal, and cooling capacity expansions signal trades demand on the customer campuses.

**Trades pulled.** Qualitative facility crafts a build needs on site. Not an FTE count.

## FAQ

**What is this tracker?**
This page is a dated public-filings / earnings / capacity tracker for hyperscalers and selected infrastructure suppliers, reframed for which facility trades get pulled (electricians, HVAC/R, pipefitters, fiber, shell). It is a construction and operations context Dataset. It is not a stock list, or price-target tool.

**Which trades does a hyperscale buildout pull?**
Qualitatively: electricians (UPS, switchgear, PDUs, generators), HVAC/R (CRAH/chillers; EPA 608 for refrigerant), pipefitters (hydronic / liquid-cooling facility loops), fiber / low-voltage / BICSI installers, and concrete / ironworkers / GC shell crews. Microsoft's own Jan 2025 post named electricians and pipefitters. Detail: /briefs/who-gets-hired/, /briefs/on-site/, /briefs/jobs-outlook/.

**How should I cite this?**
Cite 'DataCenterSkilledTrades, Hyperscaler buildout tracker: dated capex and capacity for trades context (2026-11-05), https://datacenterskilledtrades.com/briefs/buildout-tracker/' and the Dataset 'Hyperscaler and infra-supplier buildout: dated capex and capacity figures for trades context'. Company filings are footnotes under Sources / isBasedOn.

**How often is this updated?**
Last checked 2026-11-05 (Asia/Riyadh). We re-read primary IR / SEC / company releases before printing a row. If we cannot re-verify a figure, we omit it rather than invent. No schedule promises beyond that honesty rule.

**Why point to grid-load, water, and local-gov pages?**
Big money buildout and public concerns travel together. Capex announcements do not answer local rate, capacity, water, or jobs-NAICS questions. Use /briefs/grid-load/, /briefs/water/, /briefs/jobs-vs-power/, /briefs/jobs-outlook/, and /briefs/local-gov-questions/ as honesty kits alongside this tracker.

Related: /#whos-building, /facility-systems/#whos-building, /briefs/who-gets-hired/, /briefs/on-site/, /briefs/jobs-outlook/, /briefs/jobs-vs-power/, /briefs/grid-load/, /briefs/water/, /briefs/local-gov-questions/