Nikkei Asia report finds 5 tech giants hid $1.65 trillion
A new Nikkei Asia report found that Alphabet, Microsoft, Amazon, Meta, and Oracle have tucked away a massive $1.65 trillion in off-the-books debt, more than the $1.35 trillion in debt these five companies officially reported.
Meta alone is responsible for $420 billion of that hidden amount.
These companies use complex accounting tricks to keep these debts out of sight.
Hidden debt funds AI data centers
Most of this hidden borrowing is going into building huge data centers for AI projects, a move critics say could backfire if profits don't catch up.
Some experts even compare these accounting methods to the infamous Enron scandal.
With earnings reports coming soon, people are watching closely to see if these tech giants' big AI spending can really pay off or if they're heading for trouble.