BlackRock CEO Larry Fink doesn’t lie awake worrying about the possibility that some of the biggest AI players could go bankrupt—actually, he expects it to happen.
At a panel discussion during BlackRock’s 2026 Infrastructure Summit this week, the head of the world’s largest asset manager made it clear that as AI reshapes the economy, at least “one or two” bankruptcies are unavoidable.
“That’s capitalism. We’re going to have some huge successes, and we’re going to have a couple failures. OK. I’m good with that,” Fink said.
But this doesn’t mean he wants Big Tech to halt its massive AI infrastructure investments. Instead, he’s pushing for more spending, which he says is particularly critical for the U.S. to outcompete China in the AI race.
“They may overinvest in the short term, but long-term demand will catch up,” Fink noted.
The CEO of an unnamed hyperscaler told Fink they were willing to keep spending even if it turns out to be overinvestment. “The one thing I can tell you for sure is I can’t be third,” Fink quoted the CEO as saying.
Fink’s comments come as investment banking advisory firm Evercore ISI predicts hyperscalers like Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon, and Meta will spend $650 billion on capital expenditures over the next 12 months. That’s a nearly 70% jump from the $380 billion they invested in 2025. Some analyses suggest this spending could hit trillions over the next three to five years.
For Fink, this kind of competition and investment is central to how the U.S. economy is meant to operate.
“This is the beauty of capitalism, my gosh—having five, six hyperscalers and new entrants competing fiercely to build the best model. That’s capitalism at its finest,” he said.
BlackRock did not immediately respond to ’s request for comment.
Yet, Evercore noted in a report last month that heavy AI spending is putting some Big Tech companies at risk of negative cash flow—spending more than they generate. While this doesn’t mean a company is unprofitable, Evercore called it a “red flag” for their stock valuations.
Right now, these tech firms have corporate debt levels below the S&P 500 median, but Evercore pointed out that these levels are rising due to increased capital expenditures.
According to Bank of America analyst Yuri Seliger, Amazon, Alphabet, Meta, Microsoft, and Oracle issued $121 billion in corporate bonds in 2025—far higher than the $28 billion average they posted over the previous five years.
Oracle stands out in the group: it issued $26 billion in debt last year and plans to issue between $45 billion and $50 billion this year, reported. Notably, Oracle’s most recent quarterly earnings showed a 22% year-over-year increase in total revenue, driven by surging cloud infrastructure revenue (closely tied to AI).
This helped ease concerns about whether debt-fueled spending would eventually pay off. For his part, Fink isn’t worried.
“Their return on equity is still better than mine, and I have a pretty good return on equity,” he said with a laugh.