Big Tech companies now generate the equivalent of an average U.S. worker’s annual salary in just 12 to 27 seconds, even as the industry continues to cut jobs at a heavy pace in 2026.
Insuranceopedia.com reported that more than 118,000 tech workers have lost their jobs in 2026, while the largest technology companies have kept increasing profits at a much faster rate.
The analysis compared the FY2023 to FY2025 net income of Alphabet, Apple, Microsoft, Meta, Amazon, and NVIDIA with the average U.S. annual salary of $53,000. It found that Alphabet now needs only 12.6 seconds to generate that amount in net profit, making it the fastest among the main group.
Apple follows at 14.9 seconds, while Microsoft takes 16.4 seconds. Meta now reaches the same figure in 22.3 seconds, while Amazon takes 26.5 seconds, after improving more than two times faster than in 2023.
NVIDIA Saw the Biggest Jump
NVIDIA stood apart because its profit growth moved at a much higher pace than the rest of Big Tech. In FY2023, the company needed more than six minutes to generate $53,000 in profit, but by FY2025, it needed only 18.8 seconds, mainly due to strong demand for AI chips.
The data shows a clear gap between rising Big Tech profits and shrinking tech workforces, with companies making money faster while thousands of employees lose their jobs.
