Amazon's record $110 billion bond sale fuels ai ambitions

Amazon has made a blockbuster debut in the euro bond market, selling a record eight-tranche deal worth around $110 billion to finance investments in artificial intelligence. The agreement, which marks the first eight-part offering in the region, follows the tech giant's $37 billion US dollar bond sale on Tuesday. The combined offering is expected to be one of the largest corporate bond sales in history.

Ai investment frenzy

Amazon, along with Alphabet, Meta, and Microsoft, has forecasted approximately $650 billion in capital expenditure for 2026 as the tech titans race to dominate ai. The use of two currencies and various maturities in the operation allows Amazon to tap into multiple investor bases and distribute refinancing risk.

The record prior in the number of tranches in Europe was the seven-part sale by LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE in 2020 to fund the Tiffany & Co acquisition. The US portion of the deal generated roughly $126 billion in orders, one of the largest bond offerings ever, according to sources familiar with the matter.

Amazon's bond sale comes a month after it announced plans to invest around $200 billion in data centers, chips, and other equipment in 2026, surpassing analysts' estimates and sparking concerns among investors over when the massive ai spending would start yielding returns.

However, in the credit market, there is a strong appetite for hyperscale operations. Alphabet reaped around $32 billion from high-grade US and European bond markets last month, generating a broad demand, especially for a 100-year sterling bond, an exceptional asset.