Big Tech issued $220 billion of bonds to feed the silicon buildout

Alphabet, Amazon, Meta, Microsoft and Oracle issued about $220 billion in corporate bonds from the start of the year through August 10, versus $12.5 billion in the same period a year earlier. The reason is data center capex, which S&P Global Ratings estimates at $750 billion for the year.

• Issuance volume rose 17-fold year over year
• Tech sector spreads widened to about 89 bps over Treasuries
• Five companies' capex estimated at $750 billion for the year
• 20-30 year debt funds chips with 3-5 year service life