Microsoft Eyes 38GW of Data Centers by 2032, Report Says

The numbers

CFO Amy Hood told investors Microsoft expects fiscal 2027 first-quarter capital expenditures of “over $50 billion,” and full calendar-2026 capex of roughly $175 billion, revised down from an earlier $190 billion estimate after Microsoft extended the useful life of its data centers and office buildings from 15 to 25 years for accounting purposes, a change Hood said does not reflect a slowdown in actual spending. The reported 38GW target, if accurate, would put Microsoft’s national buildout at roughly triple the capacity Bloomberg pegged the company at today, with about a third of that footprint eventually dedicated to AI-specific chips. Separately, The Information has reported Microsoft is constrained by a server shortage even as it works toward that expanded footprint, a supply-side limit that would slow deployment regardless of how much capital is committed.

What’s next

Microsoft’s next earnings call, expected late October, will show whether the roughly $50 billion fiscal Q1 capex guidance held and whether the doubling pace Nadella described is on schedule. For builders and GCs, the near-term signal to watch is not the 2032 target but utility interconnection queues in the markets Microsoft is already active in, since that timeline, not the entitlement calendar, now sets when hyperscale construction actually starts.