Barclays: AI Model Firms Spend 35-40% of Revenue on Cloud Infrastructure

Barclays reported that for every $100 in revenue generated by AI model companies, approximately $35 to $40 is paid to major cloud providers including Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud Platform (GCP). These cloud providers realize operating margins between 35% and 45%, translating to $10 to $20 in profit per $100. While AI labs are seeing their inference profit margins rise significantly from low double digits in 2025 to 50-65% by 2026, analysts expect these margins to eventually compress due to intensifying competition and increas