Hyperscaler debt is soaring:
Amazon $AMZN, Alphabet $GOOGL, Microsoft $MSFT and Meta $META have sold over $200 billion of bonds so far in 2026, a record that more than doubles last year's $78 billion.
The pace has accelerated sharply from the prior decade, when the four rarely issued more than $30 billion combined in a full year.
The debt is funding a surge in AI infrastructure spending, from data centers to chips, and 2026 is only year to date.
Combined capex guidance for the four now runs near $700 billion this year.
Cash flow no longer covers it, Amazon's spending ran to 102% of operating cash flow over the trailing year.
The buildout now runs near 2% of U.S. GDP, and by some estimates accounts for about a third of this year's growth.
The debt is how they're funding it.