- Alphabet, Amazon, Meta, Microsoft and Oracle are expected to spend about $750 billion on capital expenditures in 2026, according to S&P Global Ratings. [1] - The group’s bond issuance reached about $220 billion through Aug. 10, while spreads and secondary-market yields moved higher as supply increased. [2] - The debt remains investment grade, but ratings range from Microsoft’s AAA to Oracle’s BBB with a negative outlook. [1] - Company filings show that long-term leases, purchase obligations and infrastructure financing commitments extend well beyond the current bond cycle.
[3][4] Alphabet, Amazon, Meta, Microsoft and Oracle have issued about $220 billion of bonds in 2026 through Aug. 10, according to BNP Paribas data cited by Reuters, as they finance an artificial-intelligence infrastructure buildout expected to require roughly $750 billion of capital spending this year. [2][1]
The bonds are not “high-yield” in the formal credit-market sense: The companies remain investment grade. But some offer materially higher income than government debt, and the cost of new financing is rising as Treasury yields, corporate spreads and the volume of technology issuance increase. [1][2]
More supply, wider spreads #
The Federal Reserve maintained its target range for the federal funds rate at 3.5% to 3.75% on July 29, 2026. The 10-year Treasury yield reached 4.69% on Aug. 20, according to The Associated Press, raising the benchmark rate used to price much long-term corporate debt. [5][6]
Reuters reported that median spreads for two- to four-year bonds from Amazon, Alphabet, Meta and Oracle rose to 40 basis points over comparable Treasurys from 30 basis points in 2025. Spreads for five- to seven-year debt rose to 60 basis points from 50 basis points, while spreads on bonds maturing in more than 20 years reached 118 basis points from 108.5 basis points. [2]
Secondary-market performance also weakened. Of 91 hyperscaler bonds issued in 2026 with comparable pricing data, 78 were trading at higher yields on July 28 than when issued. The median increase was about 22 basis points, according to Reuters. [2]
The move matters to investors even when the companies do not face an immediate refinancing problem. Rising yields reduce the market value of existing fixed-rate bonds, particularly those with longer maturities.
The spending behind the borrowing #
S&P estimates that Alphabet, Amazon, Meta, Microsoft and Oracle will spend about $750 billion on capital expenditures in 2026, equal to 38% of their combined revenue. It expects aggregate spending to approach $1 trillion by 2029, compared with $261 billion in 2024. The five companies issued about $115 billion of debt in the first quarter of 2026, versus roughly $70 billion during all of 2025. [1]
Issuer filings show the scale of the underlying investment. Amazon spent $96.3 billion on cash capital expenditures in the first half of 2026, primarily on technology infrastructure and fulfillment capacity, and said those investments would increase during the year. [3] Alphabet spent $80.6 billion on capital expenditures in the first six months and said it expected a significant increase in technical infrastructure spending.
[7]Meta reported $31.08 billion of second-quarter capital expenditures, including principal payments on finance leases, and forecast 2026 spending of $125 billion to $145 billion. [8] [9] Microsoft said fiscal-2026 additions to property and equipment increased by $51.4 billion.
Oracle reported $55.7 billion of fiscal-2026 capital expenditures, up 162% from the prior year, and negative free cash flow of $23.7 billion.
[[10]](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/789019/000119312526323660/msft-20260630.htm)
[[11]](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1341439/000119312526277521/orcl-20260531.htm)## Debt is only part of the obligation
The companies’ bond balances and ratings differ substantially. S&P rates Microsoft AAA with a stable outlook, Alphabet AA+ stable, Amazon AA stable and Meta AA- stable. Oracle is rated BBB with a negative outlook, leaving it much closer to the lower boundary of investment grade. [1]
Alphabet’s June 30 filing showed more than $100 billion of total debt after 2026 issuance. It also disclosed $85.2 billion of future payments on data-center leases that had not yet commenced. During 2026, Alphabet issued $20 billion of U.S.-dollar fixed-rate notes and $31.8 billion of foreign-currency fixed-rate notes for general corporate purposes. [7]
Meta issued $25 billion of fixed-rate senior unsecured notes in May. The six series mature from 2031 through 2066 and carry stated interest rates ranging from 4.55% to 6.45%. Meta also disclosed about $279 billion of lease obligations for data centers, colocations and network infrastructure that are scheduled to commence from the remainder of 2026 through 2036. [12]
Amazon reported $128.9 billion of long-term debt at June 30. Its commitments disclosures also listed $203.5 billion of scheduled long-term debt principal and interest payments across the reported maturity periods. [13] [4] These figures are not directly additive: Some commitments are leases, some are purchase obligations, and debt-payment tables include interest. They nonetheless show why credit analysis increasingly looks beyond bonds reported on the balance sheet.
What income investors should watch #
Amazon’s July financing illustrates the sector’s preference for a broad maturity ladder. The company sought $25 billion across eight fixed- and floating-rate tranches with maturities from 2029 through 2066. [14] Long maturities reduce the amount that must be refinanced in the near term, but they also leave bond prices more sensitive to changes in long-term interest rates.
External financing is becoming a larger part of the buildout. FactSet estimated that incremental annual debt rose from 9% of hyperscaler capital spending in fiscal 2024 to 32% on a trailing basis by mid-2026. It also reported that Oracle planned to raise roughly $20 billion of debt as part of a broader $40 billion fiscal-2027 funding plan. [15] Oracle’s own February financing disclosure called for $45 billion to $50 billion of gross proceeds during calendar 2026, using a combination of debt and equity to fund Oracle Cloud Infrastructure expansion.
[16]The central credit question is not whether these companies can currently access capital markets. They can. It is whether future AI-related cash flows will grow quickly enough to justify the continuing expansion in bonds, leases and other infrastructure commitments—and how much yield investors will require while they wait.
Companies mentioned #
Further sources #
[1] S&P Global Ratings estimated approximately $750 billion of 2026 capex for Alpha… ↗
[2] Reuters reported approximately $220 billion of 2026 hyperscaler debt issuance t… ↗
[[3] Amazon’s June 30, 2026 Form 10-Q disclosed $96.3 billion of first-half cash cap… ↗](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1018724/000101872426000026/amzn-20260630.htm)
[[4] Amazon’s March 31, 2026 commitments table listed $203.538 billion of long-term … ↗](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1018724/000101872426000014/amzn-20260331.htm)
[5] The Federal Reserve’s July 29, 2026 FOMC statement maintained the federal funds… ↗
[6] The Associated Press reported that the 10-year Treasury yield reached 4.69% on … ↗+10 more The stories that matter, in one email. Free — unsubscribe anytime.