Amazon has signed $164.9 billion in leases that have not yet begun, according to the quarterly report it filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on October 30. Added to the $851 billion disclosed by Microsoft, Meta and Alphabet, the four companies now report about $1.02 trillion in leases signed but not yet started, up from about $414 billion at the end of 2025.
Amazon’s figure has risen every quarter this year, from $96.4 billion at the end of 2025 to $106.3 billion in March, $137.2 billion in June and $164.9 billion at the end of September. The company does not break it down by type. Its leases cover data centers, warehouses and other fulfillment sites, offices and stores, as well as servers, networking equipment, aircraft and vehicles, so the total is broader than the data center-focused figures the other three describe. About $114.8 billion of the payments fall due after 2030. The same filing lists $159.6 billion in commitments for property and equipment, including long-term purchase agreements not recorded on its balance sheet, with $63.9 billion due in 2027.
Amazon’s cash capital expenditures were $75.9 billion in the third quarter, up from $34.2 billion a year earlier, and $172.2 billion in the first nine months of the year. The company said the spending mostly went to technology infrastructure, the majority of it supporting Amazon Web Services, and that it expects cash capital expenditures “to meaningfully increase in 2027.”
Free cash flow over the 12 months to September was negative $42.4 billion, against positive $14.8 billion a year earlier. Amazon attributed the change mainly to a $94.8 billion increase in purchases of property and equipment, which it said “primarily reflects investments in artificial intelligence.”
AWS sales rose 39 percent in the quarter to $46.0 billion, and its operating income rose to $17.8 billion from $11.4 billion. Chief executive Andy Jassy said Amazon projects AWS revenue growth above 40 percent in both 2027 and 2028.
Amazon has also borrowed heavily. The face value of its long-term debt rose to $180.9 billion at the end of September from $68.8 billion at the start of the year, through bond sales in dollars, euros, Swiss francs, Canadian dollars and sterling, along with a $17.5 billion term loan. The company said it expects “to undertake additional financing activities in 2026.”
Amazon is also spending on AI developers. It invested $50.0 billion in OpenAI’s Series C preferred stock in the first nine months of the year, including $21.3 billion in the third quarter, and $10.0 billion in Anthropic nonvoting preferred stock.
Sources: Amazon 10-Q, Amazon earnings release
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By the Control Plane Editorial Team