Amazon lifts 2026 capex to $220 billion in debt-fueled AI buildout

Amazon's latest moves show a company spending across several fronts at once. The $100 million-plus advanced manufacturing site in Indiana extends a capex push that the company now forecasts at about $220 billion for 2026, driven largely by AI and cloud infrastructure. Alongside that, Amazon is preparing to roll out more than 20,000 AI Smart Delivery Glasses by the end of 2027 and to deploy two million additional GPUs with NVIDIA, including Blackwell Ultra, Rubin, and Rubin Ultra chips launching during 2027 and 2028 — up from a plan of around one million GPUs in 2026.

The funding side is drawing attention. Amazon's £4.25 billion pound-denominated bond offering, its first use of the UK bond market, comes as major cloud providers have collectively sold close to $220 billion in debt over the last twelve months. Markets are already digesting a heavy load of tech-sector debt, a dynamic that may push up the cost of future borrowings — a consideration for any company tapping debt markets for infrastructure.

Operationally, Amazon faces pressure on retail margins, changing consumer spending patterns, and rising hardware component costs. The buildout's payoff hinges on whether AWS's revenue and operating income growth keep pace with the capital being committed to GPU capacity, leaving little margin for missteps if demand weakens.