Amazon Sets Up Up to $80B Hardware-Backed Financing Facility

According to media reports on October 30 (local time), Amazon disclosed in a quarterly filing submitted after releasing its third-quarter earnings on October 29 a supplier financing facility with a borrowing cap of $80 billion. Unlike the unsecured corporate bonds Amazon has issued in the past, the facility is backed by purchased hardware. Under the arrangement, Amazon can borrow from lenders based on the value of the servers, chips and other hardware it buys, pledging those purchases as collateral, in a structure similar to a car loan secured by the vehicle being purchased. The $80 billion figure is the ceiling on what can be borrowed, not an amount that has been drawn. The secured loan facility is discretionary, with a drawdown window running from early 2027 to the third quarter of 2028. Lenders will hold a security interest in certain purchased assets tied to the arrangement, though Amazon did not specify which assets in the filing. Commenting on the facility, AWS CEO Matt Garman told media on Friday (local time): “When we see this enormous opportunity in front of us, we are also looking at responsible ways to finance it so we can scale as much as possible for our customers.” Based on available coverage, the story stands at the point where Amazon has disclosed the facility and its drawdown schedule.