Amazon, Meta, Alphabet and Oracle Issue $159 Billion in Bonds for AI Data Centers
Updated
Updated · Financial Times · May 25
Amazon, Meta, Alphabet and Oracle Issue $159 Billion in Bonds for AI Data Centers
4 articles · Updated · Financial Times · May 25
$159 billion in bond sales by Amazon, Meta, Alphabet and Oracle this year has made Big Tech a dominant force in credit markets as they fund a new wave of AI data-center construction.
$50 billion of that total came through reverse Yankees—foreign-currency borrowing by US companies—helping push US issuers above 20% of investment-grade supply in the euro, sterling, Canadian dollar and Swiss franc markets.
The debt is generally viewed as low risk—Alphabet’s recent ¥577 billion yen deal included five-year notes at 2.4%—but portfolio managers face growing concentration as the same tech names appear across multiple markets.
That concentration extends beyond direct issuance: Barclays says Meta’s $55 billion of bonds should be weighed alongside $27 billion raised by its data-center joint venture with Blue Owl and debt sold by power and other suppliers tied to tech spending.
The funding boom looks set to grow as Meta, Alphabet, Microsoft and Amazon are forecast to spend more than $2 trillion over the next three years, increasing Big Tech’s weight in global bond benchmarks.
As Big Tech's debt saturates markets, are alternatives like private credit hiding the next financial crisis?
With a $2 trillion AI spending spree funded by debt, what happens to global markets if this boom is a bubble?
Private credit is now in 401(k)s. Are retirement savings being used to finance a high-risk, unregulated market?
$770 Billion and Beyond: The AI Infrastructure Investment Boom of 2025-2026—Debt, Risks, and the New Tech Economy
Overview
Between 2025 and 2026, investment in artificial intelligence infrastructure surged to unprecedented levels, driven by massive capital expenditure and significant debt commitments from leading tech hyperscalers. By the end of 2025, these companies had issued around $121 billion in new debt to fund AI initiatives and expand data centers, surpassing even the borrowing seen during the dot-com era. Looking ahead, capital expenditure is projected to reach $770 billion in 2026, with public market debt issuance expected between $230 billion and $240 billion. This aggressive investment reflects strong demand for AI infrastructure and has triggered notable gains in financial markets.