The marginal dollar of AI is now borrowed
For three years the AI buildout was paid for out of operating cash flow. That stopped. Hyperscaler capital spending has outgrown internally generated cash, and the gap is being closed in the credit markets: jumbo investment grade deals from the largest platforms, high yield and convertible paper from the neocloud tier, and a fast growing structured market where data centers are financed as asset backed securities and CMBS against long leases with investment grade tenants. Today's bond market wobble, driven by oil, deficits and, explicitly, the funding needs of AI companies, is the market pricing that new supply.