EL7.AI
StocksMedium•30 October 2026•
4 min read

Nasdaq loses nearly $1 trillion in a week and $2 trillion in a month

Key Facts

1The sell-off erased nearly $1 trillion from Nasdaq’s value in a week and about $2 trillion over the month through Oct. 30, 2026.
2The Nasdaq Composite fell 2.9%, the S&P 500 1.8% and the Dow Jones 1.1% in the Oct. 30 session.
3Intel shares fell 28.6%, their biggest one-day loss since 1974.
4Amazon’s negative free cash flow totaled $42.4 billion over the previous 12 months, and it spent $94.8 billion on property and equipment.

A technology stock sell-off erased nearly $1 trillion from Nasdaq’s value in a week and about $2 trillion over the month through Oct. 30, 2026, according to a report by The Guardian. Pressure accelerated after mixed results and outlooks from major technology companies, as investors reassessed the scale of spending on artificial intelligence infrastructure and when it might generate returns. On Friday, the S&P 500 fell 1.8%, its worst daily performance since June, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 2.9%. The Dow Jones fell 1.1%, according to The Associated Press. The performance puts Nasdaq’s weekly and monthly losses in the context of a sell-off that spread across major U.S. stock indexes.

Pressure on the Nasdaq intensified after it fell 7.8% from the record closing high it reached on Oct. 6, while Friday’s decline was its biggest since June 5, according to Reuters via Investing.com. Intel shares fell 28.6% in the session, their biggest one-day loss since 1974. The decline came after the company forecast fourth-quarter earnings below analysts’ estimates, despite fourth-quarter earnings themselves topping expectations, according to The Associated Press. Amazon shares fell 1.4% after it reported weaker-than-expected earnings. The company said it had recorded negative free cash flow of $42.4 billion over the previous 12 months, while its spending on property and equipment totaled $94.8 billion, most of it directed toward artificial intelligence investments.

Friday’s moves followed sharp losses for Alphabet in the previous session. Its shares fell more than 12% on Oct. 29, their worst day ever, after the company reported higher cash spending on artificial intelligence investments, according to The Associated Press. Nvidia shares fell 4.2% and AMD shares 10.9% on Friday. The broader semiconductor index lost 7.2% in the session, taking its October decline to more than 15%, according to Reuters via Investing.com. Among sectors, technology in the S&P 500 posted its biggest monthly loss since March 2025. Communication services recorded their steepest monthly decline since April 2022, the same report said.

Investors’ concerns center on whether massive investments in artificial intelligence will generate enough profit and productivity to justify their cost, and whether higher interest rates will slow the expansion of data centers, according to The Associated Press. Portfolio manager Joe Tigai said artificial intelligence-related trading “is moving from a phase of hopes and dreams to one in which companies are being asked to prove results.” Oliver Birch of WithSpire Advisors added that investors are focused on the prospect of a positive return on investment and how quickly it can be achieved. In a separate report, Reuters said higher borrowing costs could make debt-financed investments more expensive and harder to justify. The repricing extended to the Nasdaq 100, which was at risk of losing more than $2 trillion in market value during October after falling more than 5.8% through Oct. 30, according to Reuters via MarketScreener.

The sell-off did not reflect a broad deterioration in reported corporate results. Reuters reported that about half of S&P 500 companies had reported third-quarter results by Oct. 30, with aggregate earnings on track to grow 31% during the period, according to LSEG I/B/E/S data. In another report, Reuters said 299 companies in the index had reported results, with 82% beating consensus estimates, while analysts expected third-quarter earnings to grow 31.6% year over year. The figures show a market split between overall earnings performance and investor concerns about specific companies and the scale of their capital spending. Losses in Amazon, Alphabet and Intel, along with declines in semiconductor stocks, were among the factors reports linked to concerns about artificial intelligence spending. U.S. midterm elections, corporate results and the monthly jobs report are set to test investors in the following week, according to Reuters.

The Nov. 2 agenda includes the Institute for Supply Management’s October manufacturing index, with consensus expectations at 54.7 points, compared with 54.5 points in the previous period, according to T.D. Economics. On the same day, Chicago Federal Reserve President Austan Goolsbee will lead a discussion at 11:15 a.m. Eastern time. Markets are also watching for Apple’s results the following week, while Nvidia is expected to report in mid-November, according to Reuters via MarketScreener. Midterm election results could increase regulatory scrutiny of artificial intelligence and data centers, according to the report, which cited those risks. Corporate results, jobs and manufacturing data are among the following week’s milestones after the sell-off, as investors track the scale of artificial intelligence spending and whether it will turn into returns.