Why the Same Servers Can Add Billions in Profit

Amazon ended 2025 with about $72 billion of buildings and equipment still under construction, and none of it was being depreciated. Why can a half-built AI data center look so cheap on paper? Three ordinary, legal, disclosed accounting rules: construction in progress is not depreciated until it is ready for use, part of the interest is capitalized while building, and companies choose how many years their servers will last. Explained with public filings, the 1990s fiber boom, the case for long server lives, and four things to check in any filing. DISCLOSURE: I hold IREN, WULF and CoreWeave (CRWV). I do not hold Nvidia, Amazon or any ETFs. I am biased. This video is educational and NOT FINANCIAL ADVICE. Nothing here alleges fraud or wrongdoing by any company: these are legal, disclosed, audited accounting choices. Dollar examples labelled "illustrative math" are simplified examples, not company numbers. Statements from earnings calls are company-reported. Chapters 0:00 Why does a half-built data center look so cheap? 1:12 Why isn't a half-built building an expense? 2:21 How does the interest bill disappear? 3:32 What happens on switch-on day? 4:08 How did longer server lives add billions? 5:27 Why do AI chips make the guess harder? 6:23 What did the fiber boom teach us? 7:02 To be fair: why might long lives be right? 8:14 What should a long-term investor check? Sources (two independent sources per fact) Amazon 10-K 2025: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/da... edgar.tools (Amazon): https://app.edgar.tools/companies/AMZ... PwC Viewpoint 4.3: https://viewpoint.pwc.com/dt/us/en/pw... Alphabet 10-K 2023: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/da... PwC Viewpoint 1.3: https://viewpoint.pwc.com/dt/us/en/pw... ASC 835-20: https://viewpoint.pwc.com/dt/us/en/fa... TeraWulf 10-Q: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/da... StockTitan (WULF 10-Q): https://www.stocktitan.net/sec-filing... CoreWeave 10-K 2025: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/da... MTS wiki (CoreWeave): https://drops.mts.now/ai-capex/wiki/d... Microsoft 10-K 2023: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/da... The Register: https://www.theregister.com/off-prem/... DCD: https://www.datacenterdynamics.com/en... Meta 10-K 2025: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/da... Bloomberg: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articl... Hudson Labs: https://www.hudson-labs.com/research/... Reuters: https://www.reuters.com/technology/nv... CNBC (Nvidia): https://www.cnbc.com/2024/06/02/nvidi... IREN FY26 results: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/da... Yahoo Finance (IREN): https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/sto... USA Today (2002): http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/money/... Brookings (2002): https://www.brookings.edu/articles/th... CNBC (CoreWeave): https://www.cnbc.com/2026/08/12/corew... Blockspace: https://blockspace.media/insight/core... Amazon Q2 2026 call: https://stockanalysis.com/stocks/amzn... IREN 8-K (SEC): https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/da... Yahoo Finance (IREN deal): https://finance.yahoo.com/news/micros... Images: AI illustrations (no real people, no real sites) are labelled AI ILLUSTRATION. Synthetic voice (Azure neural TTS), no real or cloned voices. Original music. #DataCenters #Depreciation #AIstocks #Investing #BetTheDecade