AI Spending Becomes a Test of Financing and Returns

The week turned AI from a semiconductor demand story into a broader capital-allocation and financing test, as companies funded infrastructure, hired for deployment, and shifted more risk onto balance sheets. Micron's results supplied the clearest evidence that AI spending is already producing revenue, while rising supply and valuation risks kept the cycle from looking secure.

Outside AI, Boeing gained a major defense program even as its commercial certification and software issues remained unresolved. Higher yields, labor shortages, and pressure on consumer-facing businesses exposed the costs of expansion and restructuring across the economy.