Goldman Sachs Warns of AI Credit Saturation as Uber (UBER), Walmart (WMT) Curb Spending

Goldman Sachs warns that the AI infrastructure investment boom is approaching credit market saturation, projecting trillions in capital expenditure for hyperscale cloud providers. Simultaneously, enterprises like Uber (UBER) and Walmart (WMT) are implementing caps on AI usage, citing escalating costs and a struggle to justify return on investment. This dual signal suggests the AI investment frenzy faces growing financial scrutiny regarding its sustainability and potential debt risks. Goldman Sachs estimates hyperscalers will spend $5.3 trillion on AI and data centers from 2025 to 2030, largely financed through debt, potentially saturating liquidity credit markets. Morgan Stanley projects global data center construction capex at $2.9 trillion by 2028, with significant reliance on corporate bonds, private credit, and asset-backed securities. On the demand side, Uber (UBER) exhausted its annual AI budget by April and imposed a $1,500 monthly cap per employee for one AI tool. Walmart (WMT) also limited internal AI assistant usage. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman acknowledged rising costs as a "major issue" for clients this year, driven by a shift to usage-based billing models. Companies including Microsoft (MSFT), Amazon (AMZN), and Google (GOOGL) are now offering tools to direct users to lower-cost AI models.