Global IT spending will hit $6.37 trillion in 2026, said Gartner – that’s more than the combined GDP of Saudi Arabia, Switzerland, and the UK.
Data centre (62.5%) and IaaS spending (29.3%) will, unsurprisingly, be the biggest drivers of the growth, the research house said today.
Worldwide IT spending will be up 14.2% on-year, the firm predicted.
Humanity’s biggest ever infra. build?
Gartner’s John-David Lovelock described the AI buildout pithily as “the largest infrastructure project ever attempted by humanity…”
But “this is not a rising tide lifts all boats market trend,” he added.
“Inflation, supply shortages, rising hardware and memory costs, AI funding initiatives and shifting priorities,” are all straining budgets.
The market is starting to react cautiously, if not negatively to the levels of CapEx outlay needed for this kind of AI infrastructure buildout.
**Markets: Is this AI debt junk? **
Oracle is the poster child for investor concerns on this front.
From a September 2025 peak, its stock has cratered from highs of $300+ to $114 as The Stack published, on debt and cash flow concerns. Ratings agency S&P Global downgraded Oracle’s long-term issuer credit rating (ICR) 'BBB-' from 'BB earlier this month – one level above junk.
Its analysts said on July 9: “Oracle’s AI business requires significant upfront capital investments and long-term data center leases, both of which we have continually underestimated. Rising component costs could also pressure the economics of the AI business model…”
Demand “could reverse if leading frontier model developers are unable to raise external financing or stop subsidizing their customers.”
S&P [ estimates](https://www.spglobal.com/ratings/en/regulatory/article/-/view/sourceId/101695609?ref=thestack.technology) that
[OpenAI alone makes up “roughly half” of Oracle’s $638 billion in remaining performance obligations (RPO).](https://www.wheresyoured.at/exclusive-openai-financials/?ref=thestack.technology)
__loss-making__The ratings agency in May estimated that Alphabet could increase net debt by $180 billion before reaching its downgrade threshold.
CTOs tell The Stack that they are under growing pressure to deliver clear ROI from AI investments which are eating into broader IT pots. Pressure for productivity improvements is also putting significant pressure on existing staff budgets and scrutiny on their performance.
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