The five largest cloud and AI companies have collectively sold $159 billion in bonds during the first five months of 2026. That figure is 47% higher than the same window last year, and it represents a fundamental change in how the most cash-rich companies on the planet are choosing to finance their futures.
The numbers behind the borrowing binge
From 2020 through 2024, the Big Five averaged roughly $28 billion in US corporate bond issuance per year. In 2025, that number jumped to $121 billion for the full year. And now, barely halfway through 2026, they’ve already blown past that with $159 billion and counting.
Amazon alone accounted for a staggering chunk. The company executed a near-record bond sale of approximately $54 billion in March 2026, a deal so large it forced Bank of America analysts to revise their full-year hyperscaler debt forecast upward. BofA now expects total borrowing for the group to land somewhere between $140 billion and $175 billion for the year.
UBS estimates that cumulative public debt for the hyperscaler group could reach $230 billion to $240 billion by the end of 2026.
