Tech Giants Hide $1.65 trillion in Off‑Balance‑Sheet Debt

The five largest technology companies—Alphabet, Microsoft, Amazon, Meta and Oracle—are reportedly using accounting methods similar to those employed by Enron in 2001 to keep large portions of debt off their balance sheets.

Bloomberg analyst Tom Selinger says the hidden obligations total about $1.65 trillion, roughly eight times the level recorded four years earlier, with Meta alone concealing around $420 billion. The practice involves classifying long‑term leases for data‑center space, AI chips and servers as contracts rather than debt, allowing the liabilities to remain unrecorded until the assets become operational. While legal under current U.S. accounting standards, the approach raises concerns about the true financial health of these firms.