The story behind the cartoon
Microsoft is seeking at least $25 billion in its first US investment-grade bond sale since 2017, according to Bloomberg, with The Wall Street Journal also reporting the deal on Thursday. The offering spans up to 10 tranches with maturities from two to 40 years, led by Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Chase and UBS, and comes as Microsoft spends heavily on AI infrastructure.
The borrowing follows a quarter in which Microsoft spent $45.2 billion on data centres and equipment. Finance chief Amy Hood said capital spending, including finance leases, would exceed $50 billion in the October-to-December quarter and accelerate in the first half of 2027. Microsoft's cash and short-term investments fell to $64.5 billion at September 30 from $76.8 billion three months earlier, though it remains one of only two US companies with a AAA credit rating.
Microsoft was the last holdout among the big AI spenders: Alphabet, Amazon and Meta have already tapped the bond market repeatedly for AI buildouts, and Alphabet completed a $25 billion deal in August. The return to borrowing has sharpened worries that debt-fueled AI spending will be harder to justify if borrowing costs climb, even after Microsoft reported better-than-expected earnings.
The joke in Zimbo's cartoon is the holdout finally paying up: a spotless, glum Microsoft businessman reluctantly signs an enormous sheet marked 25 BILLION IOU, while the other end of the paper is already disappearing into the enormous, ravenous mouth of a monster built from server cabinets, cables and cooling fans. The cleanest credit in tech, feeding the beast on credit.
THE RENT
THE ENVELOPE FLOOD
THE GOLDEN GOODBYE
AI MADE SEVEN COMPANIES RICH. THE OTHER 493 GOT THE BILL.