Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) has taken on $17.5 billion in new debt to fund its AI build-out, a striking move for a company that long ran on cash flow rather than borrowing.

The delayed-draw term loan came from a syndicate that includes Citibank, JPMorgan, Bank of America, HSBC and Wells Fargo, according to a filing dated June 8.

The structure lets Amazon draw the money as needed.

Amazon’s 2026 capital spending is tracking toward roughly $200 billion, while its trailing twelve-month free cash flow has collapsed to about $1.2 billion, down from roughly $26 billion a year earlier.

Big Tech Is Trading Cash For Debt

Amazon is not alone in reaching for the debt markets. Combined AI spending across the largest tech firms is now expected to top $700 billion this year.

Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ:META) filed for its largest bond sale ever in October, up to $30 billion, and Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last month disclosed its first yen-denominated bond sale.

The cash-rich playbook that funded the cloud era is giving way to leverage.

The market does not always reward it. Oracle Corp. (NYSE:ORCL) just logged its worst week since 2002, a 15% drop, after its own AI capex and negative free cash flow spooked investors.

What Prediction Markets Say About A Pop

Kalshi’s “Recession this year?” market puts the odds of a 2026 downturn at about 20%, on $2.4 million in volume. Up from last week’s 15%, but still far below the 35% printed during the height of the Iran conflict.

Polymarket’s “AI bubble burst by…?” contract gives the industry a 22% chance of a downturn by Dec. 31, 2026, on roughly $3 million in volume.

One of the bubble market’s resolution triggers requires Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ:NVDA) to fall 50% from its all-time high.

That ties the capex question straight back to the chipmaker soaking up the spending. Much of every dollar Amazon, Meta and Alphabet borrow is a dollar likely headed for Nvidia’s order book.

For now, those same traders are still pricing a continued bull market, suggesting they see the build-out, and the borrowing behind it, running a while longer.

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