AI and compute data · the section
US investment in computers
How much are US businesses spending on computers and peripheral equipment, the national accounts' nearest line to AI servers?
The highest quarter in the series held, which starts in March 2005. Higher than every quarter of the five years before.
: the latest quarter published, by Bureau of Economic Analysis via FRED. Not a live figure.
Data last updated . Checked twice a day.
US investment in computers, by quarter
US$ bn a year, seasonally adjusted annual rate, since March 2005. Not adjusted for inflation.
Year by year average, and the highest and lowest quarter, for the last 10 years
| Year | Average | Highest quarter | Lowest quarter |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 409.8 | 420.1 | 399.6 |
| 2025 | 280.2 | 339.5 | 222.1 |
| 2024 | 179.8 | 194.0 | 164.0 |
| 2023 | 148.5 | 155.4 | 144.7 |
| 2022 | 160.4 | 165.0 | 155.9 |
| 2021 | 147.1 | 154.9 | 143.2 |
| 2020 | 126.5 | 136.3 | 115.0 |
| 2019 | 118.9 | 123.3 | 115.7 |
| 2018 | 120.4 | 122.3 | 118.4 |
| 2017 | 105.8 | 109.8 | 99.8 |
Related
How this is measured
The Bureau of Economic Analysis's national accounts, private fixed investment by type, series B935RC1Q027SBEA via FRED, quarterly. The five-year position ranks the latest quarter against the 20 quarters before it.
Current dollars, not adjusted for inflation, at a seasonally adjusted annual rate: a quarter's spending multiplied by four, roughly. BEA revises recent quarters with each estimate and every summer.
Computers and peripheral equipment is the national accounts' nearest line to AI servers, but it is all business computers, laptops and storage included, and it counts equipment bought for use in the US: servers a US company installs in data centres abroad are not in it.
Filed and published figures only: no company guidance, no forecasts. Source: Bureau of Economic Analysis via FRED. Every period of every series here: compute.csv.