Has taking a look at your bank account ever made you consider a questionable side hustle? You’re not alone. 

Facing a funding shortfall, researchers in California decided to open an OnlyFans account…  for the marmots they study. There, fans can leave tips on videos and images of the chunky rodents while helping support their research. 

The S&P 500 rose slightly while the Nasdaq 100 dipped nearly one percent as oil’s decline continued to provide broad support to stocks, while the continued chip dip pushed tech shares lower. 

Meta and Microsoft — two of the largest and spendiest companies in the world — are slated to report earnings results after the close today at a time when investors are feeling increasingly queasy about the amounts Big Tech is spending on artificial intelligence. 

Last week, Google’s parent reported capital expenditures above its previous forecast, making for its first cash-flow negative quarter since it went public in 2004. The company said its spending is aimed at meeting a growing backlog of cloud contracts. 

Still, that news dragged down other hyperscalers, including Meta and Microsoft, as well as the broader market. 

Microsoft is expected to keep its free cash flow in the green. Meanwhile, analysts are expecting Meta to report its first free cash-flow negative quarter since 2012. Here is what the two have guided for capex as of their last report: 

I’m old enough to remember when investors were excited about big spending on capex, seeing it as both proof that a company is staying on the cutting edge and as a promise of future demand. 

Now they seem more eager to see money coming in, not out. 

“In our view, investors are becoming less willing to reward higher AI spending on its own and are increasingly looking for progress in earning a return on that investment,” said Brian Therien, a senior analyst at Edward Jones.

Investors have more to look forward to on Thursday: Amazon and Apple, with the latter less exposed to AI anxieties than the former. 

— J. Edward Moreno