Bloomberg Intelligence Trump Moves to Have Tech Giants Pay for Surging Power Costs
Jan 16, 2026
Mandeep Singh, Global Tech Research Head, delves into the push for tech firms to fund new power plants due to AI data centers' soaring power needs. Lee Klaskow highlights JB Hunt’s disappointing revenue amid fragile freight demand, marking a significant economic bellwether. Rania Sedhom discusses Saks' Chapter 11 filing, revealing risks for luxury brands and vendors. Michael Halen paints an optimistic picture for U.S. restaurant sales ahead, with factors like lower gas prices and tech upgrades driving growth.
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Gigawatt Data Centers Pose Grid Strain
- AI data centers will require roughly 10x current power, moving from 50-100MW to ~1GW per site.
- This scale raises urgent questions about whether aging grids can supply such concentrated demand.
AI Cuts Hyperscaler Margins
- AI workloads materially lower gross margins for hyperscalers, dropping below 50% versus 65–70% for cloud.
- Even Microsoft and other large providers will see margin compression as AI computing scales.
AI Demand Reveals Hidden Supply Shortages
- Rapid AI demand reallocated attention and supply, creating shortages in components like storage and CPUs.
- Infrastructure refresh cycles mean overlooked parts can suddenly tighten when AI ramps.