Alphabet is preparing to raise roughly $15 billion through a multi-tranche US dollar bond offering as it seeks financing for an expanded capital expenditure programme driven by artificial intelligence. The planned issuance may be split into as many as seven maturities, with the longest dated to 2066 trading at a spread near 120 basis points over US Treasuries. Banks including JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs and Bank of America have been tapped to arrange the deal, and the company is also preparing contingency plans for Swiss franc and sterling issues, even entertaining a rare 100‑year bond.
The move follows Alphabet’s quarterly results, which beat expectations, yet coincided with an aggressive capex outlook: management warned 2026 capital spending could reach as high as $185 billion — a figure far above Wall Street’s forecasts. That guidance sits alongside comparable build‑outs by Meta, Microsoft and Amazon, with the four companies collectively set to pour roughly $650 billion into expanding data centres, networking and AI infrastructure this year. Even megacap balance sheets are feeling the strain: since last year the major cloud and AI players have been substantial issuers in the corporate bond market to bridge the gap between profit and spending plans.
Investors have so far shown strong appetite for these deals. Oracle last week priced a record $25 billion bond that drew unprecedented order books, and Alphabet itself raised $17.5 billion in the US and €6.5 billion in Europe in November. Yet the buoyant demand coexists with a growing debate among fixed‑income and technology investors about whether the scale and speed of AI‑related capital deployment risks producing overcapacity and an accompanying asset bubble.
Long‑dated issuance highlights how tech companies are locking in financing on extended timelines even as interest‑rate and macroeconomic volatility persist. A 2066 tranche and talk of century bonds signal a willingness by issuers to convert future uncertain cash flows into present capital, shifting duration and refinancing risk onto the bond market. For investors, the attraction is yield and access to high‑quality credit; for issuers, debt complements equity and cash reserves as a lower‑cost way to fund capital‑intensive growth.
The strategic question for Alphabet and its peers is whether unprecedented upfront investment in AI infrastructure will translate into durable revenue growth and margins that justify the cost of capital. The technology is resource‑hungry — from GPUs to custom chips and vast storage networks — and suppliers such as Nvidia have become critical bottlenecks. Should demand for AI services fall short of expectations or consolidation occur, the companies carrying the largest fixed investments could face margin pressure and longer payback periods.
Regulators and market watchers will also track how much of this borrowing is being used for productive expansion versus competitive positioning. Massive, simultaneous build‑outs can entrench market leaders by raising rivals’ entry costs, but they can also amplify systemic risks in credit markets if investor sentiment changes. The near‑term outlook will hinge on how these bond tranches price, the mix of tenors chosen, and whether investor demand remains as robust as it has been through recent mega‑sales.