
Alphabet Bets Big on AI, Taps Bond Markets for AI-Driven Cloud Build
Alphabet plans to raise up to $25 billion in investment-grade bonds to fund data-center and AI infrastructure, after boosting its 2026 capital expenditure forecast to $195–$205 billion. Q2 spending remained high as Google Cloud revenue surged 82% and backlog reached $514 billion, while free cash flow was negative (-$5.9 billion) despite substantial cash on hand. The move signals financing for an AI-driven expansion, but it raises questions about whether cloud revenue and margins will offset depreciation, energy and interest costs; the strategy’s durability depends on continued cloud growth, backlog conversion and monetization of AI products.













