AI Spending Boom by Tech Giants Stirs Bond Market Fears in 2026 – News and Statistics

Feb 7, 2026

Major technology companies are preparing to spend significantly more on artificial intelligence than investors had expected, according to a Bloomberg report. Microsoft Corp., Oracle Corp., and other “hyperscalers” are in an arms race to invest in AI and beat competitors in a technology that could change vast parts of the economy. Alphabet Inc. said it is poised to spend as much as $185 billion on data centers this year, more than it has invested in the past three years combined. Amazon.com Inc. promised an even bigger outlay: $200 billion.

A portion of those investments will come from the high-grade corporate bond market, potentially resulting in more debt sales this year than investors had expected. The securities are already expensive by historical standards, trading at close to their tightest spreads since the late 1990s. “The AI spending bonanza is finding buyers today but leaves little upside and even less room for error,” said Alexander Morris, chief executive officer and co-founder of F/m Investments. “There is no asset class that can’t and won’t spoil.”

Those fears weighed on tech companies’ notes this week, which broadly weakened relative to Treasuries, including most of the $25 billion of debt that Oracle sold on Monday. In the broader market, high-grade corporate bond yield spreads edged about 0.02 percentage point wider this week.

Beyond supply and demand, intensifying worries around AI’s power to disrupt have sparked tremors in the market. As companies like Anthropic PBC release a steady stream of tools targeting professional services from finance to software development, investors are starting to price in the threat AI poses to entire businesses.

Software companies have seen their leveraged loan prices drop about 4% this year through Thursday, according to Bloomberg index data, amid fears that AI will leave many software products obsolete. Publicly traded lenders known as business development companies also have extensive exposure to software, with the industry accounting for more than 20% of portfolios on average, according to a note from Barclays. A BDC equity index fell 4.6% this week.

Source: IndexBox Market Intelligence Platform