A recent chart by Michael Hartnett, chief investment strategist at Bank of America, shows that the five largest AI companies—Google, Meta, Amazon, Microsoft, and Oracle—have collectively issued approximately $182 billion in bonds and $89 billion in stock since 2026, raising a total of about $271 billion. In contrast, these companies have relied primarily on operating cash flow to support capital expenditures and stock buybacks over the past decade. Now, the massive investments in AI data center construction are driving them to rely more heavily on external financing. Reuters reported in March that Bank of America had raised its 2026 debt issuance forecast for the five companies from $140 billion to $175 billion. Meanwhile, the five tech companies' capital expenditures in 2026 are projected to reach $803 billion to $828 billion. This simultaneous increase in financing needs and capital expenditures means greater pressure on free cash flow and may also compress stock buyback opportunities, altering the long-standing model of large tech companies returning capital to shareholders through share buybacks.
