Big Tech Is Hiding $1.65 Trillion in Debt. How Worried Should Investors Be? - 24/7 Wall St.

What the report says

24/7 Wall St. reported that Microsoft, Meta Platforms, Amazon, Alphabet and Oracle are entering earnings season with headline balance sheets that may not fully show the scale of their artificial intelligence infrastructure commitments. Citing a Nikkei review of SEC filings, the outlet said the five companies have about $1.65 trillion in future lease and purchase obligations tied largely to data centers, networking equipment and power needs.

The article emphasized that these obligations are disclosed and permitted under U.S. accounting rules, because they are generally future contractual commitments rather than conventional debt. It cited estimated off-balance-sheet obligations of about $420 billion for Meta, $350 billion each for Microsoft and Amazon, $273 billion for Oracle and $250 billion for Alphabet. By comparison, 24/7 Wall St. said Meta’s figure is roughly three times its reported debt, while Oracle’s related commitments have grown sharply over four years.

The significance for investors is transparency and risk assessment, not an allegation of illegal accounting. The companies’ large cash flows may help support these commitments if demand for AI services continues to expand. But the report warned that long-term leases and project financing can make leverage appear lower than the companies’ actual future payment obligations.

As 24/7 Wall St. framed it, the main risk is whether AI demand justifies the buildout. Once facilities begin operating, costs can move more visibly into financial statements through leases, depreciation or possible impairment charges if assets are underused. The outlet said investors should look beyond headline debt figures and examine SEC filing footnotes to understand the full scale of Big Tech’s AI spending commitments.