At 11:51 a.m. ET (16:51Z) on 4 November, in the first US session after the midterms, Amazon was up 7.0%, Microsoft 6.9%, Alphabet 4.3% and Meta 2.2%, according to Nasdaq.com. Ten data-center builders and power suppliers were down an average of 11.8%, by our arithmetic.
By our arithmetic, the four hyperscalers averaged a 5.1% gain, about 17 percentage points above the builders and power names, wider than the 15-point gap at 10:27 a.m. ET. These are intraday prices, not closing prices.
Microsoft traded as high as $557.39, above the 52-week high of $551.15 that Nasdaq.com lists, and was valued at about $4.1 trillion at 11:53 a.m. ET, according to the same quote page.
Business Pill · Grid Cost Allocation
An evergreen Business Engineer explainer on how grid costs are allocated. It teaches the general idea only and does not discuss the midterms or any company.
The key insight: At 11:51-11:52 a.m. ET the four hyperscalers were up an average of 5.1% and ten data-center builders and power names down an average of 11.8%, a gap of about 17 percentage points, by our arithmetic from Nasdaq.com prices.
Reuters reported before the open that “Democrats seized control of both the Senate and House of Representatives”. It said “The prospect of fewer sweeping legislative changes under a divided government in Washington lifted large technology stocks, though concerns over tighter AI regulation weighed on shares of data-center operators”.
The same story quoted Goldman Sachs economists: “Democratic wins at the state and local level are likely to lead to short-term data center moratoria, potentially affecting about 45% of planned US data center capacity expansion”. At 8:31 a.m. ET, premarket, Reuters had Amazon up 3.7%.
Intraday moves at 11:51-11:52 a.m. ET on 4 Nov 2026 vs the 3 Nov close. Source: Nasdaq.com real-time last sale; averages are our arithmetic. Moves will change.
What Was Posted on X
Honestly surprised by how quickly AI stocks are selling off when last night’s election outcome was hardly a surprise.
Kalshi’s favorites won 479 of 487 midterm races (98% hit rate) which makes this feel more like the market looking for a reason to sell than reacting to anything unexpected.
Shay Boloor says he is surprised by how quickly AI stocks are selling off when the election outcome was hardly a surprise: Kalshi’s favorites won 479 of 487 midterm races, a 98% hit rate, which he says makes it feel more like the market looking for a reason to sell.
Builders and Power Names
At 11:52 a.m. ET, Hut 8 was down 21.7%, Cipher 20.8%, IREN 11.2%, Core Scientific 10.9%, CoreWeave 9.2%, Applied Digital 7.4% and Nebius 5.6%, according to Nasdaq.com. Vistra was down 13.4%, GE Vernova 10.9% and Constellation Energy 7.2%.
A second Reuters story described “Constellation Energy and Vistra, among the power companies most exposed to data-center projects in Texas”. It quoted Kit Rees, investment strategist at Quilter: “AI has been an enormous engine powering the US economy, so any curbs on its future development could threaten to put the brakes on growth”.
Reuters also wrote that “analysts doubt any legislation could meaningfully stall data center construction”, while a Democratic-led Congress “increases prospects of more hearings and investigations related to the AI buildout”.
The Exceptions
Riot Platforms was up 11.6% at 11:52 a.m. ET, the one data-center builder we read in positive territory, on the day it announced a 15-year lease worth about $28 billion in total contract value, according to its release. Clean-energy names rose at 11:52 a.m. ET, according to Nasdaq.com: First Solar 9.5%, Enphase 10.3%, Sunrun 6.9% and NextEra 4.3%.
SpaceX and Tesla were down 3.1% and 3.4% at 11:52 a.m. ET, according to Nasdaq.com, against premarket falls of 6.5% and 4.7% that Reuters reported at 8:31 a.m. ET. Nvidia was down 1.5% at 11:52 a.m. ET.
As we read the prices, the market separated the companies that buy AI capacity from the companies that build and power it, on the same news; Reuters tied the first to divided government and the second to scrutiny of data centers.
As we read the one exception, Riot was up 11.6% at 11:52 a.m. ET on the day it announced a lease worth about $28 billion in total contract value, while the builders around it fell.
Goldman Sachs economists, as quoted by Reuters, 4 Nov 2026
“Democratic wins at the state and local level are likely to lead to short-term data center moratoria, potentially affecting about 45% of planned US data center capacity expansion”
Three Implications
FOR HYPERSCALERSAmazon was up 7.0% and Microsoft 6.9% at 11:51 a.m. ET, according to Nasdaq.com, against Amazon’s 3.7% premarket gain reported by Reuters at 8:31 a.m. ET.
FOR POWER SUPPLIERS Vistra was down 13.4% and Constellation Energy 7.2% at 11:52 a.m. ET; Reuters described them as among the power companies most exposed to data-center projects in Texas.
FOR CLEAN ENERGY First Solar was up 9.5% and Enphase 10.3% at 11:52 a.m. ET, according to Nasdaq.com.
The framework puts it this way: “It is a sovereign-scale financing problem dressed in tech-company clothing — and the financial architecture is starting to invert.”
As we read it, the day’s split between the hyperscalers and the builders that finance and power their capacity is one view of that architecture. The framework, published in May 2026, does not discuss the midterms.
These are intraday prices read at one moment, not closing prices. The reasons for the moves are as Reuters and the strategists it quoted describe them; we have not tested them. Reuters’ second story does not state the time of each quoted move. No data center moratorium has been enacted by Congress, and Goldman’s 45% is the bank’s estimate.
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At 11:51-11:52 a.m. ET on Wednesday, the four hyperscalers were up an average of 5.1% and ten data-center builders and power names down 11.8%, a gap of about 17 points by our arithmetic. Reuters tied the split to divided government and to scrutiny of data centers.
A note on sourcing. Share moves are Nasdaq.com real-time last sales read at 11:51-11:52 a.m. ET (16:51-16:52 UTC) on 4 November 2026, against the 3 November close; they are intraday and will change. Premarket moves and the reasons given for the moves are as reported by Reuters. Averages and the gap are our arithmetic.
Gennaro Cuofano is a CRO and tech executive who has worked in AI since late 2015, starting with bringing NLP, natural-language generation, voice and chatbot products to the marketing industry. His background is in law and finance: he holds a Master's degree in Law and an International MBA with an emphasis on corporate finance (LUISS Business School and the University of San Diego, 2012), and worked as a financial analyst at a real-estate investment firm in San Diego and as an assistant controller. His work focuses on business model strategy, business engineering and, more broadly, structural analysis: how companies make money, read from their own filings. He created FourWeekMBA and leads research there and at The Business Engineer, his newsletter on AI and business strategy, with over 95,000 subscribers and more than 1,000 published analyses. His writing has also appeared on Entrepreneur (for example, How to Digitize a Family Business in Europe) and HackerNoon. Find him on LinkedIn and Substack. See how we source.
