Where the data center buildout stands: November 2026

Every week we track the builds that are hiring. This is the bigger picture behind them: how much is being spent, what's slowing projects down, and what that means for a hand deciding where to go next.

The money: bigger than ever

Five of the biggest tech companies are on pace to spend $803 billion to $828 billion on capital projects in 2026, according to a Business Insider tally of third-quarter earnings published October 30. Third-quarter spending alone was about $227 billion, up roughly 20% from the quarter before. The tally covers all capital spending, and a large share of it goes to data centers and the equipment inside them.

None of them are signaling a slowdown. Alphabet's finance chief said the company expects spending to "increase significantly in 2027." Amazon's CEO said it will spend "meaningfully more in 2027." Meta said it expects to "continue investing aggressively."

The bottleneck: power, not money

The constraint now is getting electricity to the sites. Microsoft lowered its 2026 spending outlook to about $170 billion, and the reason it gave was delays at third-party data centers, not a change of heart.

Project Jupiter in New Mexico is the clearest example. The natural gas pipeline meant to fuel its on-site power was pushed back nearly six months to February 1, 2027, and Oracle has filed a force majeure notice to protect itself if the campus misses its 2028 online date. We break that down here.

Plans shift, but the work moves rather than vanishes

In March, OpenAI and Oracle dropped a planned expansion of the Abilene, Texas campus. Within weeks, Microsoft took over the space for two new buildings and a 900-megawatt power plant. More on Abilene. Meanwhile Meta raised its Louisiana commitment to $50 billion. More on Hyperion.

The labor picture

Associated Builders and Contractors estimates construction needs about 349,000 net new workers in 2026. The IBEW says electrical work makes up 45% to 70% of the cost of building a data center, which is why electricians feel this boom first. In northern Virginia, IBEW Local 26 journeymen earn about $59.50 an hour, according to Fortune.