Five US tech giants' hidden debts soar to $1.65tn on opaque AI funding - Nikkei Asia

What the report says

Nikkei Asia reported that hidden debt at five major U.S. technology companies has risen sharply as the industry accelerates spending on artificial intelligence infrastructure. Citing its own study, Nikkei said off-balance-sheet liabilities reached an estimated $1.65 trillion, about eight times the level roughly four years earlier, and now exceed the companies’ reported debt.

The article points to data center leases and contracts for graphics processing units as key sources of these obligations. Nikkei highlighted Meta and Oracle among the companies affected, saying such arrangements can increase long-term liabilities without appearing in the same way as conventional borrowing. The report said Meta’s off-balance-sheet debt is about $420 billion, nearly three times its transparent debt.

The development matters because AI systems require enormous computing capacity, power and specialized chips, pushing technology companies to lock in infrastructure commitments at large scale. While these deals can help companies expand quickly, Nikkei said their opacity may make it harder for investors to judge financial risk and compare companies’ true leverage.

The report, published from Palo Alto on July 21, 2026, comes amid wider market debate over the cost and sustainability of the AI investment boom. Based on the supplied text, Nikkei did not provide in the excerpt the full list of the five companies or the detailed methodology behind the estimate.