AI stock sell-off sparks a new debate over the data-center buildout

Business Insider · Joe Ciolli · 2026-11-06 10:50 UTC

Election fallout is forcing investors to rethink AI spending, debt risk, and which companies can weather a slower buildout.

The AI trade got a harsh reminder Thursday that its biggest risk may not be whether artificial intelligence works.

It may be whether America can — or wants to — build enough data centers to make it work.

While the stock-market carnage was deep and spared no major sectors, AI-linked tech felt the pain to an outsized degree. The Nasdaq 100 plunged more than 6% for its worst day since 2020. Within the AI trade, chipmakers and neoclouds — both central to the AI-infrastructure buildout — were standout losers.

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