Big Tech is on a bond binge to fund its AI bets, and investors seem happy to oblige.

Why it matters: Even as worries swirl around these companies going on AI spending sprees, bond investors — the so-called "smart money" — are so far telling a calmer story.

Where it stands: Tech companies need enormous amounts of cash to buy AI infrastructure, mainly those energy-hungry data centers that can generate enough compute to take our jobs.

• Spending by the hyperscalers is forecast to reach over $600 billion this year.
• Researchers at Morgan Stanley estimated last year that these companies face a $1.5 trillion "financing gap" to meet their capital expenditure needs.
• Even the most profitable tech companies, which generate a lot of cash and have solid businesses, are turning to the credit markets for spending help.

By the numbers: Less than two months into the year, the big five hyperscalers — Alphabet, Amazon, Meta, Microsoft and Oracle — have issued $45 billion in bonds in the U.S., nearly half as much as they did for all of 2025, per PitchBook.

• That's more than they have done in any other full year going back to 2011.

Zoom out: Overseas investors are hungry for tech debt, too.

• Alphabet raised $32 billion in debt denominated by British pounds and Swiss francs, Bloomberg reported last week.

The big picture: Bond investors picking up the high-grade debt from the companies are signaling that they feel confident in the companies' credit-worthiness, particularly Alphabet's.

• The spreads between the rate on Alphabet's bonds and U.S. Treasury yields are very tight, less than 1 percentage point on the debt issued in the U.S. last week.
• Even Alphabet's 100-year bond was in demand, priced at just 1.2 points above 10-year U.K. bonds, according to Bloomberg.

Between the lines: Essentially, these tech companies are being treated by the bond market as if they were as safe as sovereign states.

Reality check: It's not at all clear yet which, if any, of these companies comes out on top in the current AI race.

• Even if they do, will their new AI businesses generate the same cushy margins that were throwing off all this cash in the first place?
• "Are the hyperscalers the economic winners?" asks Ashok Bhatia, chief investment officer and global head of fixed income at Neuberger Berman.

Flashback: Bhatia points out the companies that borrowed money to drill for oil during the shale boom weren't the economic winners.

• "It was everybody else who benefited."

While the credit market keeps calm and carries on throwing money at the large tech companies, the stock market has been pulling back.

• The stock prices of all five hyperscalers are down for the year.

Only four of the top 10 companies on the S&P 500 last year made the list a decade prior: Apple, Microsoft, Berkshire Hathaway and JPMorgan Chase.

Why it matters: Big Tech, particularly the Magnificent Seven, may seem like an enduring force, but life comes at you fast. The biggest companies change over time.

Between the lines: That point is worth considering at a very disruptive moment, when it's not yet clear who the AI winners and losers will be.

• Big companies can lose their way in these moments, says Meera Pandit, global market strategist at JPMorgan Asset Management.

Reality check: Just because a company is no longer in the top 10 doesn't mean it has disappeared.

By the numbers: The total market cap of the top 10 in 2025 was an astonishing $19.4 trillion. In 2015, it was $3.2 trillion.

😬 Investors are getting used to "event risk" from the White House and AI. (Wall Street Journal) They're also increasingly bearish on the dollar. (FT)

🇯🇵 Asian markets saw the largest net-buying by hedge funds last week, while international markets outperform the U.S. (Bloomberg) Japan reported weaker than expected growth. (Reuters)

✄ The Pentagon is "close" to cutting ties with AI giant Anthropic, a penalty usually reserved for foreign adversaries. (Axios)

🏦 The Federal Reserve is preparing to loosen bank rules around mortgage lending. (FT)

🤔 KPMG partner got fined over using AI to pass an AI test. (FT)