AI’s insatiable need for debt has so far been matched by investors’ appetite for it, but they may turn nauseous on the belly-busting volumes coming from tech giants.
The latest quarterly reports from AI hyperscalers show that their massive spending plans remain on track, with Amazon even raising its capital expenditure guidance. That means even more bond issuance is on the way after an already-staggering debt orgy.
The numbers paint a picture of a borrowing binge that’s bigger — and murkier — than it looks on paper. S&P Global counts $225 billion in bonds issued by hyperscalers and related entities like Nvidia so far this year, putting them on pace for a record haul in 2026 — but that’s just the visible debt. Other analyses suggest so-called “hidden debt” at the five U.S. tech giants has ballooned, meaning the AI boom’s true price tag is only partly reflected in the bond markets that everyone’s watching.
Here is what is visible — and just barely invisible — in the hyperscalers’ debt loads.
‘Market participants are growing leery’
