Bloomberg Tech — "Amazon's Big Spending Plans and Bitcoin's Rebound"

Date: February 6, 2026
Host(s): Caroline Hyde (NY), Ed Ludlow (SF)
Guests: Emily Nicole (Bloomberg), Rohit Kochani (ROF Capital Partners), Hey She (Alliance Bernstein), Dave Bazooki (Roblox CEO), Max Levchin (Affirm CEO), Robert Kinsel (Warner Music Group CEO), Kurt Wagner (Bloomberg), Karl Porter (Bloomberg)

Episode Overview

This episode dives into two of the most significant current tech stories: Amazon's eye-popping $200 billion capital expenditure plan for 2026—including data centers, chips, and AI equipment—and Bitcoin's volatile rebound after a major sell-off. The hosts also break down key earnings and industry shifts with interviews from the CEOs of Roblox, Affirm, and Warner Music Group, plus insights from market analysts on the far-reaching consequences of hyperscaler spending, the future of AI infrastructure, and the resilience of digital assets.

Key Segments and Insights

Amazon's $200 Billion CapEx Shock: The AI Arms Race

Starts at 01:52

• Headline: Amazon plans to spend $200B in capital expenditures for 2026, focusing on data centers, chips, and AI hardware.
• The stock tumbles over 8% (“on track for its biggest drop since of last year”) despite strong U.S. growth (24% YoY—the fastest in almost 3 years).
• Positive impacts ripple to suppliers: Nvidia shares jump over 6% as infrastructure and memory providers rally on expectation of hyperscaler investment.
• The Nasdaq 100 is otherwise bouncing after a rough week, but Amazon bucks the trend.

Analyst Perspective: Rohit Kochani, ROF Capital Partners

Interview at 06:20

• Sticker shock: The market expected high CapEx, but not the caution signs around operating margins and prolonged investment curves.
  • “People expected spotless earnings. I think Capex sticker shock was expected…but what was not expected was slight yellow flags in operating margins.” – Rohit Kochani [06:53]
• Kochani maintains a buy on Amazon (target $285), citing efficiency gains, diversified bets (cloud, retail, ads), and vertical chip integration.
  • “They are vertically integrating in a way that absolutely no other company on earth is trying to replicate at this scale.” – Kochani [09:13]
• Biggest concern: How long and how steep will the investment period last before ROI becomes apparent?
• On risk of negative free cash flow: Kochani is unfazed, citing Amazon’s past cycles of heavy spending followed by high long-term ROI.
  • “This company has gone through negative free cash flow cycles in the past and delivered ROI unlike many other companies…” – Kochani [11:22]

Deeper Analysis: Hey She, Alliance Bernstein

Panel at 27:13

• Total projected hyperscaler CapEx (Amazon, Microsoft, Meta, Google): $650B for the year.
• “It’s as defensive as it is offensive — it’s for growth, but it’s also to defend your competitive moat.” – Hey She [28:04]
• This is a “third year into the build.” Now, model adoption and disruption are accelerating (“rapid model drops and launches”).
• The AI infrastructure arms race is reshaping productivity even outside tech (retail, manufacturing), reminiscent of historic infrastructure revolutions (e.g., the electric grid).
• Concern is not just short-term ROI, but “the probability of holding on to that revenue and the profit is probably changing really fast”—explaining valuation volatility across AI and SaaS names.

Bitcoin’s Wild Week: Volatility and 'FUD'

Crypto segment at 02:02, Emily Nicole joins at 04:03

• Bitcoin dipped 13% in a day, then rebounded 10%, hovering around $68k—erasing all gains since the Trump election rally.
• Drivers: Crypto is decoupling from traditional stores of value and equity indices, with no clear narrative; traders are “buying the dip.”
  • “It’s really just been a roller coaster week…bitcoin’s really struggled to patch onto any narrative.” – Emily Nicole [04:03]
• Companies like MicroStrategy (Saylor's earnings) experienced similar whiplash: stock down 17% before earnings, then up 16% after “losses were in line.”
• Regulatory headwinds from China aren't stopping renewed crypto interest—for now.

Roblox Growth: Platforms, Safety, and AI

Roblox CEO Dave Bazooki segment starts at 14:02

• Roblox posts a blowout quarter: daily active users jump 69% to 144 million, bookings up 55% YoY.
  • “We are on a mission to get 10% of all global gaming content running on Roblox and we're well on our way.” – Dave Bazooki [14:26]
• Introduction of “gold standard for safety”: age estimation, filtering, safety features are being implemented with minimal user friction.
  • “We gave our teams an ambitious goal to have no friction for this…our matchmaking has gotten better, we continue to refine the way we filter text and make trusted connections.” – Bazooki [15:43]
• 18+ user segment is now growing at 50%+ year over year.
• Globally, countries like Japan see user growth at 160% YoY.
• Advert revenue is not yet a significant factor but is accelerating (rewarded video, developer-sponsored ads).
• AI on Roblox: Introduction of Cube foundation model; seeing greater experience variety, envisioning “novel games” and long-term multiplayer ‘holodeck’ ambitions.
  • “We're a multiplayer platform where…we're building the holodeck where people go together.” – Bazooki [19:51]

Affirm: Steady Growth, International Expansion, and Financial Transparency

Affirm CEO Max Levchin interview starts at 21:57

• Affirm’s “Buy Now, Pay Later” card (Affirm Card) is experiencing rocket-ship growth, quadrupling faster than the rest of the business.
  • “The end game is to get you to put away your credit card forever and use a debit card powered by Affirm.” – Max Levchin [22:18]
• International operations, now live with Shopify in the UK, showing real revenue and setting up a continental Europe push.
  • “It's now a business…We're in London, we're hiring, we're building. It’s making real revenue.” – Levchin [23:10]
• Emphasizes conservative guidance as strategy, but reassures on historical outperformance.
• Credit quality is strong, with healthy customers and better-than-expected holiday growth.
• On U.S. capping of credit card rates: transparency remains Affirm’s biggest edge.
  • “The reason Affirm has been successful is because of upfront pricing. If you know what you'll pay, you'll be just fine.” – Levchin [25:37]

Warner Music Group: Earnings, AI, and the Future of Music IP

Interview with CEO Robert Kinsel starts at 37:23

• Q1 revenue up 10%; focus on both artist development (big names and new talent) and broad-based regional growth.
  • “Artist development is at the core of what we do and finding artists like the ones you mentioned is how we succeed. But it is not just that…” – Kinsel [37:23]
• AI deployed to automate marketing for over a million songs, boosting efficiency and potentially cutting costs.
  • “With AI we can do that and we're well underway to delivering on that…It's a major, major accomplishment for a large IP owner such as ourselves.” – Kinsel [38:30]
• Striking data licensing deals with companies like Suno; pushing for music value increases via both consumption and creation.
• Industry still at an early stage: “not yet” seeing full results from new partnerships but significant deal-making underway.
• Positive artist response to proactive AI strategy, learning from past tech disruptions (file-sharing).
  • “It’s been fantastic…Artists have learned, they studied the past, and they want to be part of experimentation with us.” – Kinsel [41:52]
• Partnership with Bain signals confidence in music IP’s growing long-term value.

Reddit: Earnings, Ads, and AI Play

Reddit coverage at 44:29 with Kurt Wagner

• Reddit beat sales projections, but share price fluctuated.
  • “They have an AI story to tell too…Reddit Answers is an AI search engine built into Reddit.” – Wagner [45:23]
• New ad products and licensing user-generated data to AI players.
• International user growth aided by better translation and localization.
• Monetizing both logged-in and logged-out users remains a key challenge.

The Boring Company: Nashville Tunnel Ambitions

Big Take at 47:12 with Karl Porter

• Boring Co.’s planned 10-mile Nashville tunnel is its most ambitious yet, but faces serious engineering risks tunneling through limestone (risk of sinkholes, technical complexity).
  • “Getting through limestone is very tricky and you have the risk of things like sinkholes. It's also, it's a very heavy wet rock. Like, actually transporting it throughout is going to be incredibly difficult.” – Porter [47:45]
• Local government cut out of some processes; safety and emergency egress points are key unknowns.
• Boring seeks international growth, signing Dubai as its first overseas contract.
  • “Again, it's a very aggressive timeline…Either they've dramatically improved the machine and their processors or it's not going to go as quickly as they're saying.” – Porter [49:16]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "The analysts are calling it sticker shock. Amazon pledging to spend $200 billion..." – Ed Ludlow [02:52]
• "This company has gone through negative free cash flow cycles in the past and delivered ROI unlike many other companies..." – Rohit Kochani [11:22]
• "It’s really just been a roller coaster week…bitcoin’s really struggled to patch onto any narrative." – Emily Nicole [04:03]
• “We are on a mission to get 10% of all global gaming content running on Roblox and we're well on our way.” – Dave Bazooki [14:26]
• "With AI we can do that and we're well underway to delivering on that…It's a major, major accomplishment for a large IP owner such as ourselves." – Robert Kinsel [38:30]
• "The end game is to get you to put away your credit card forever and use a debit card powered by Affirm." – Max Levchin [22:18]
• “It's as defensive as it is offensive — it's for growth, but it's also to defend your competitive moat.” – Hey She [28:04]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 01:52 – Amazon CapEx announcement and market reaction
• 04:03 – Bitcoin and broader crypto volatility, with Emily Nicole
• 06:20 – Analyst Rohit Kochani on Amazon’s investment logic
• 14:02 – Roblox CEO Dave Bazooki on explosive growth, safety, and AI
• 21:57 – Affirm CEO Max Levchin on company trajectory and financials
• 27:13 – Hey She (Alliance Bernstein) on the $650B capex era and AI disruption
• 37:23 – Warner Music Group CEO Robert Kinsel on music, AI, and catalog value
• 44:29 – Reddit’s earnings, advertising, and AI/data licensing
• 47:12 – Boring Company’s Nashville expansion and international ambitions

Overall Tone & Takeaway

The episode exudes urgency and curiosity around the unprecedented scale of tech investment and disruption. From Amazon’s “mic drop” year of spending to the chaos and opportunity surrounding AI and digital assets, the show maintains a fast-paced, newsy tone, peppered with frank concerns (“Are we building a road to nowhere?”) and optimism about technological innovation. Interviews remain upbeat yet critical, with CEOs emphasizing transparency, user safety, and long-term growth even amidst market volatility and structural transformation.