US Big Tech off‑balance‑sheet debt

In late July 2026 analysts highlighted that Alphabet, Microsoft, Amazon, Meta and Oracle have accumulated off‑balance‑sheet obligations that have ballooned eightfold over four years to roughly $1.65 trillion. The liabilities—long‑term leases, joint‑venture financing and other special‑purpose vehicles—are tied to AI‑driven data‑center construction and other capital‑intensive projects and are not reflected on the companies’ balance sheets.

A follow‑up report a few days later confirmed the same total amount and noted that Meta alone hides about $420 billion. The accounting treatment classifies long‑term lease contracts as operational arrangements rather than debt, keeping the obligations off the books until assets become operational. While legal under current U.S. accounting standards, the scale of the hidden debt has drawn parallels to Enron and prompted concerns about the firms’ true financial health. S&P has already downgraded Oracle’s rating in response to the stretched obligations, and analysts warn that a slowdown in AI demand could force write‑downs that affect lenders, insurers and credit ratings.