Rapidly rising spending on chips, cloud infrastructure and data centres has prompted the largest cloud providers to expand their debt issuance, increasingly selling bonds in currencies other than the US dollar. Issuing in multiple currencies lets them reach a broader investor base and reduces reliance on the US market.
Over the past twelve months Amazon and Alphabet together issued roughly $60 billion of bonds in various currencies, setting new records in the euro, pound and yen markets. In March, Amazon raised €14.5 billion (about $16.56 billion) in an eight‑part deal, which LSEG data says was the largest ever corporate bond issuance in the euro market. Alphabet’s yen, Canadian dollar, Swiss franc and pound deals also set records, and the company became the first technology firm since 1997 to issue a 100‑year bond.
Data‑centre lease‑backed structures gain traction
Alongside traditional borrowing, banks and arrangers are increasingly using structured transactions built on pre‑signed data‑centre lease agreements — often inked before construction begins. Those leases make future cash flows more predictable and help make the securities attractive to yield‑seeking investors.
A recent example is the $810 million bond issued by Stingray Compute, owned by Cipher Digital, which was backed by a lease with Amazon and was oversubscribed nine times. Structured, construction‑style deals began proliferating last year; since then roughly fifteen such packages have been sold to investors chasing higher yields.
Market size and concerns about absorption
BNP Paribas estimates this year’s capital expenditures by the largest cloud providers at about $725 billion, nearly double the level seen in mid‑2025. Because spending is rising faster than operating cash flow, these companies are turning to external financing.
Morgan Stanley forecasts that AI‑related debt volumes could push investment‑grade issuance above $2 trillion for the first time in 2026. Barclays data shows US AI‑related debt already represents nearly 15 percent of all investment‑grade issuance, although there are limited signs of market saturation so far. Some investors, however, are beginning to question how much additional supply the market can absorb.
Why this matters
Multi‑currency issuance and lease‑back or lease‑supported structured deals allow tech companies to raise large sums quickly to fund AI investments. That can change the structure and dynamics of the corporate bond market and affect investment‑grade market shares and liquidity if AI‑related debt continues to grow over the coming years.
Key players mentioned include Amazon, Alphabet, BNP Paribas, Morgan Stanley and Barclays, as well as structured‑deal issuers such as Cipher Digital and Stingray Compute. The market’s path will depend on issuance volumes and investor demand going forward.
(Image: illustrative; image source: Getty Images)
