Morgan Stanley overtook Goldman Sachs as the top AI debt-deal bank in 2026 as global AI-related debt issuance nears $570 billion. Morgan Stanley CEO Ted Pick states that 2026 data center capital expenditure is running near $850 billion, up from a $575 billion forecast made in November 2025. The shift reflects debt underwriting becoming one of the most lucrative franchises tied to the artificial intelligence buildout, as hyperscalers and cloud providers borrow heavily to fund data centers rather than fund them purely with cash. Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan Chase are arranging roughly $13 billion for a Meta Platforms data center in El Paso, Texas.
Morgan Stanley CEO Reports Data Center Capex Near $850B
Morgan Stanley Chief Executive Officer Ted Pick has been vocal about the scale of spending, stating that data center capital expenditure initially forecast at $575 billion for 2026 back in November 2025 is now tracking closer to $850 billion, a jump of roughly 48% in eight months. The bank's growing footprint is visible in specific deals, with Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan Chase announcing they were working on a financing package of roughly $13 billion for a Meta Platforms data center in El Paso, Texas. Morgan Stanley backed miner-turned-AI-infrastructure firm Core Scientific with up to $1 billion in financing for data center growth, a facility JPMorgan later expanded by another $500 million to bring the total to $1 billion. Core Scientific's pivot culminated in a roughly $9 billion all-stock acquisition by CoreWeave, with the combined companies planning to spend about $5.5 billion developing six data centers across five sites by the first half of 2027.
Global AI Debt Issuance Projected at $570B in 2026
Global AI-related debt issuance is projected to reach $570 billion in 2026, according to Morgan Stanley's own research, as companies have increasingly turned to leveraged finance, investment-grade bonds and structured credit to fund gigawatt-scale data centers. Wells Fargo banking analyst Mike Mayo has pointed to Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan as the three biggest beneficiaries of the trend, and Bank of America has separately helped raise nearly $500 billion for AI-related companies since 2025.
Bond Investors Push Back as AI Debt Grows
Bond investors have begun pushing back amidst AI-related debt heading toward $570 billion, with declining coverage ratios on hyperscaler bonds suggesting lenders may soon demand higher yields to compensate for the risk. Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon has described the environment as the middle of an "AI capex super cycle," one where banks are deploying every financing instrument available including investment-grade debt, leveraged loans and equity capital markets. Goldman Sachs is positioning itself alongside Morgan Stanley for upcoming AI-sector listings, including a possible Anthropic offering. Goldman Sachs co-led the Meta-adjacent CoreWeave-Core Scientific dealmaking alongside Morgan Stanley as a joint arranger on a separate $2.6 billion CoreWeave facility.
FAQ
What did Morgan Stanley do in 2026 regarding AI debt underwriting?
Morgan Stanley overtook Goldman Sachs as the top AI debt-deal bank in 2026 as global AI-related debt issuance nears $570 billion. The bank is arranging roughly $13 billion with JPMorgan Chase for a Meta Platforms data center in El Paso, Texas.
Why is data center capex running higher than forecast in 2026?
Morgan Stanley CEO Ted Pick states that 2026 data center capital expenditure is running near $850 billion, up from a $575 billion forecast made in November 2025, representing a jump of roughly 48% in eight months as hyperscalers and cloud providers borrow heavily to fund AI infrastructure.
How are bond investors responding to AI debt growth?
Bond investors have begun pushing back amidst AI-related debt heading toward $570 billion, with declining coverage ratios on hyperscaler bonds suggesting lenders may soon demand higher yields to compensate for the risk.
