Amazon's debt nearly doubled to $129 billion amid $220 billion cumulative data center spending spree.
Amazon's long-term debt has ballooned to approximately $128.9 billion, nearly doubling from around $65 billion. CEO Andy Jassy has characterized this capital expenditure spree as not optional but necessary to keep AWS competitive in the AI arms race. The company recently raised its 2026 capital expenditure guidance to $220 billion, up from an already substantial $200 billion target. A $25 billion bond issuance helped fund the expansion.
AWS reported Q2 2025 revenue of $129 billion, reflecting 20 percent year-over-year growth. Jassy has framed the spending as a response to "sustained customer demands" for AWS services. Amazon is not alone in this pursuit—Microsoft, Google, and Meta are all investing staggering sums in data center buildouts.
The infrastructure buildout is quietly reshaping the economics of cryptocurrency mining. Cipher Mining recently signed a $5.5 billion, 15-year agreement with AWS to supply 300 MW of AI-ready power, with operations expected to begin in 2026. The arrangement exemplifies a broader trend: Bitcoin miners are sitting on exactly what hyperscalers need most—permitted power capacity and existing sites that can be converted for high-performance computing. These miners are essentially becoming power and infrastructure landlords for some of the world's largest cloud providers.
Bitcoin miners have collectively secured over $70 billion in AI and high-performance computing contracts. Analysts project that by late 2026, AI revenue could represent more than 70 percent of total revenues for publicly listed miners. For crypto investors, this pivot represents one of the most significant structural shifts in the mining sector's history. Companies like Cipher Mining are hedging against Bitcoin price volatility by diversifying into enterprise computing infrastructure.
This shift creates a new valuation framework for mining stocks. The AI contract backlog, power capacity, and relationships with hyperscalers now matter as much as, if not more than, the Bitcoin holdings on their balance sheets.