帕洛阿尔托，加利福尼亚州——美国科技巨头的与人工智能相关的表外债务持续膨胀，六个月内几乎翻倍至约3.2万亿美元，投资者对似乎无止境的支出愈发担忧。
PALO ALTO, California -- U.S. tech giants' off-balance-sheet debt from artificial intelligence-related obligations continues to balloon, almost doubling in six months to about $3.2 trillion, with investors increasingly alarmed by seemingly unending spending.
日经新闻汇总了谷歌母公司Alphabet、微软、亚马逊、Meta和甲骨文最新的财报披露和估计数据。
Nikkei compiled data from the latest earnings disclosures and estimates from Google owner Alphabet, Microsoft, Amazon, Meta and Oracle.
科技公司从供应商采购芯片、服务器和电力，以建设AI数据中心，往往签订多年合同以在供应紧张时确保准入。有些公司则租赁设备或从云服务初创企业预留计算资源，而非自行建设设施。
Tech groups procure chips, servers and power from suppliers to build AI data centers, ofteng contracts spanning several years to secure access amid tight supply. Some also lease equipment or reserve computing resources from cloud service startups instead of building their own facilities.
未履行的采购承诺和尚未开始的租赁协议通常被视为表外项目。虽然完全符合会计准则，但它们被视为未来可能计入的隐性债务。
Unfulfilled purchase commitments and lease agreements that have not yet started are generally treated as off-balance-sheet items. Although fully compliant with accounting rules, they are seen as hidden debt that is likely to be booked in the future.
这类隐性债务在五家公司中已扩展至约3.2万亿美元。约60%为采购承诺，40%为尚未开始的租赁义务。总额已相当于它们合计资产的约80%，若此趋势持续，可能很快超过总资产。
Such hidden debt has expanded to about $3.2 trillion across the five companies. Roughly 60% consist of purchase commitments and 40% of lease obligations that have yet to begin. The total already equals about 80% of their combined assets, which could soon exceed total assets if this pace continues.
截至9月30日，谷歌的隐性债务最高，达1.05万亿美元。该数字比3月底高约160%，但直接比较困难，因为公司似乎已改变部分计算方法。Meta的数字次之，随后是微软、亚马逊和甲骨文。
Google has the most hidden debt at $1.05 trillion as of Sept. 30. The figure is about 160% higher than at the end of March, though direct comparison is difficult because the company appears to have changed part of its calculation methodology. Meta has the next highest figure, followed by Microsoft, Amazon and Oracle.
谷歌正将更多现金投入数据中心和其他资本支出，而非其核心业务所产生的现金。7-9月季度的资本投资现金流出达到713亿美元。
Google is directing more cash into data centers and other capital expenditures than it generates from its core business. Capital investment cash outflows reached $71.3 billion in the July-September quarter.
加上经营现金流后，该季度赤字约为290亿美元，连续第三个季度出现赤字。公司计划在2027年进一步提升支出，以满足强劲需求。
Combined with operating cash flow, the figure was about $29 billion in the red, marking a third consecutive quarterly deficit. The company plans to further boost spending in 2027 to meet robust demand.
Meta的非资产负债表义务在9月底总计约8100亿美元，较3月底上升90%。
Meta's off-balance-sheet obligations totaled about $810 billion at the end of September, up 90% from the end of March.
该公司正利用外部投资者资金增加计算能力。7月，它宣布与美国投资公司贝莱德成立合资企业，并签署租赁数据中心的协议。
The company is increasing computing capacity using outside investor capital. In July, it announced a joint venture with U.S. investment firm BlackRock and signed an agreement to lease data centers.
Meta还在4月同意，从美国初创公司CoreWeave购买约210亿美元的云计算能力，期限至2032年。
Meta also agreed in April to purchase about $21 billion worth of cloud capacity through 2032 from U.S. startup CoreWeave.
这些公司部分隐性债务也用于增强CoreWeave等初创公司的信用度。即使资产负债表较弱，这些公司也能吸引银行和投资者的融资，因为它们拥有与科技巨头签约的未来销售作为支撑。但在这场前所未有的基础设施投资热潮中，变化的迹象正在出现。
Part of these companies' hidden debt has also served to bolster the creditworthiness of startups like CoreWeave. Even with weaker balance sheets, these companies can attract financing from banks and investors because they have future sales backed by contracts with the tech giants. But signs of change are now emerging in this unprecedented infrastructure investment boom.
CoreWeave的债券价格在10月暴跌，引发了对专注于人工智能的云计算初创公司（有时被称为新云服务商）财务健康状况的担忧。许多此类公司除了云服务之外收入来源有限，如果利率上升使得进一步融资更加困难，并危及数据中心的持续投资，它们将面临脆弱局面。
CoreWeave's bond prices plunged in October, spreading concerns about the financial health of AI-focused cloud startups, sometimes called neocloud providers. Many such companies have limited revenue sources beyond cloud services, leaving them vulnerable if rising interest rates make additional fundraising more difficult and jeopardize continued investment in data centers.
投资者对信用极佳的科技巨头自身的巨额人工智能支出的担忧也在加剧。在上周的财报发布后，Alphabet和Amazon的股价均大幅下跌，因为两家公司都表示计划继续在2027年及以后扩大投资。
Investor concerns are also intensifying over the massive AI spending of highly creditworthy tech companies themselves. Following earnings announcements last week, shares of Alphabet and Amazon fell sharply after both signaled plans to continue expanding investments in 2027 and beyond.
Oracle——这五家公司中隐性债务最少的一家——面临着特别强烈的财务担忧。其股价较大约一年前的高点下跌了60%以上。
Oracle -- which has the least hidden debt of the five companies -- faces particularly strong concerns about its finances. Its shares have fallen more than 60% from their peak about a year ago.
为了安抚投资者，该公司上周表示，将在2027年12月至2028年5月期间，使反映核心收益与资本支出之间平衡的自由现金流恢复为正值。
To reassure investors, the company said last week that it would return free cash flow, which reflects the balance between core earnings and capital expenditures, to positive territory in the period from December 2027 to May 2028.
当今的人工智能产业建立在科技巨头、芯片制造商、人工智能开发商和新兴云服务提供商之间长期采购协议构成的网络之上。投资、融资和担保相互强化，提升了信用度，使公司能够从金融市场筹集巨额资金。
Today's AI industry is built on a web of long-term purchasing agreements among tech giants, chipmakers, AI developers and neocloud providers. Investment, financing and guarantees reinforce one another, enhancing creditworthiness and allowing companies to raise vast sums from financial markets.
但所有信用仍然与少数几家科技巨头相关联。如果人工智能投资继续以当前的速度进行，而利润未能达到预期，市场对这些公司的信任可能会受到压力，其影响可能会波及科技行业和更广泛的金融体系。
But all of the credit is still tied to a few tech giants. If AI investment continues at its current pace and profits fail to meet expectations, the market's trust in those companies could come under pressure, with repercussions potentially spreading across both the tech sector and the broader financial system.