Incredible 25+% YOY Earnings Growth in Q1 2026. 50+% for Tech Sector. Is the growth genuine or largely a function of accounting rules?

With earnings season mostly wrapped up, companies in the S&P and Nasdaq have posted over 25% YOY earnings growth in Q1 2026, the highest growth since 2021. Most of this growth has come from tech companies, especially those involved in semiconductor manufacturing, which makes perfect sense given the growing level of capex from hyperscalers. My question: Is the earnings growth as good as it appears? Or is it being largely bolstered by the way accounting treatment works for capex? Semiconductor companies are able to recognize revenue immediately. But the expenses from hyperscalers don't reflect the vast majority of capex in the current quarter. Capex recognition is deferred over time, roughly 5-6 years from what I've read. So all the revenue benefits from chip companies are showing up immediately, but the costs are deferred over a long period. The net effect in the current quarter is extremely positive GAAP net income, making current quarter income look incredible. Simplified example: Meta pays $100 to Nvidia/other chip companies in Q1. Chip companies recognize $100 revenue. Meta only recognizes $5 in expenses in Q1 with the remaining $95 to be recognized over time. Overall Q1 GAAP net income: $100 - $5 = $95. Actual net increase in cash: $100 - $100 = $0 Do accounting rules not heavily inflate current quarter earnings? Possibly to an extremely misleading degree? And the earnings reports show hyperscalers are actually running out of cash and are heavily resorting to debt to fund capex. They haven't actually generated much of a return off their chip investments yet. Not to say they won't, but they will need to quickly otherwise the recognition of the capex will come back to bite GAAP earnings very hard in the coming years.