The Zhitong Finance App learned that Amazon (AMZN.US) has set up supplier financing arrangements and can borrow up to 80 billion US dollars based on the value of the purchased hardware. This is the latest move the company has taken to maintain financial flexibility at a time when hundreds of billions of dollars are being invested in artificial intelligence infrastructure.
Until now, Amazon has been using cash from cloud computing and retail businesses, as well as the largest corporate bond issuance in the company's history to fund data center construction and chip procurement.
However, the company largely did not use innovative financing arrangements such as those used by some of its competitors, such as co-financing data center construction with investment groups or leasing chips purchased by other entities. Many of these deals revolve around Nvidia (NVDA.US) chips—which drive most AI computations and are often the most expensive single component in new data centers.
Amazon revealed in quarterly reporting documents after the earnings release on Thursday that this guaranteed loan amount can be withdrawn at the company's own discretion, and the withdrawal period is from the beginning of 2027 to the third quarter of 2028. The lender will receive a collateral interest in part of the assets purchased in connection with the financing arrangement. Amazon's filings did not specify what those assets included, and a spokesperson declined to comment.
“As we see this huge opportunity, we're also looking for ways to responsibly finance it so we can maximize the scale for our customers,” Matt Garman, CEO of Amazon Web Technology (AWS), said in an interview on Friday. He said Amazon is working with partners to “study how to balance part of this cash flow at a time of rapid acceleration of expansion.”
On Thursday, Amazon's third-quarter earnings report showed that the increase in capital expenditure was higher than expected. These expenses resulted in a net free cash outflow of $42.4 billion for the year ending September 30. Amazon's total spending commitments — including debt and interest, unleased leases, obligations to buy property and equipment, and other items — swelled to $883 billion at the end of September, up 36% from three months earlier, more than double the same period in 2025.