PPCC: Pisitófilos Creditófagos. Invierno 2025

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https://www.ft.com/content/3ff9a481-8be3-4dd4-9a00-ea809f3485fd

Moody’s alert cites gap in data centre accounting for Big Tech companies

Accounting limitations mean tens of billions in liabilities may be concealed for leasing costs


Meta is among a growing number of companies using special purpose vehicles owned and funded largely by other investors to build their data centres © George Frey/Bloomberg

A gap in US accounting rules allows Big Tech companies to conceal tens of billions of dollars of potential liabilities for their AI data centres, the credit rating agency Moody’s warned on Monday.

“Limitations” in the rules mean AI companies may not have to account either for the cost of renewing a data centre lease or for the cost of not renewing it, even though either number could be huge, Moody’s analysts wrote.

“Disclosures may not show the full picture”, the rating agency warned, adding “the accounting liability is unlikely to reflect certain plausible future scenarios”.

A growing number of companies including Meta and Oracle are using special purpose vehicles owned and funded largely by other investors to build their data centres. The long-term cost of leasing the data centre back from the entities is equivalent to debt in the eyes of rating agencies and many investors.

In some cases, companies are taking relatively short-term leases while at the same time guaranteeing to pay compensation if they do not renew and the value of the data centre falls as a result.

The arrangement means liabilities might not show up anywhere in the accounts, according to Moody’s.

US generally accepted accounting principles require the lease renewal to be “reasonably certain” — typically viewed as 70 per cent likely, at least — before it is accounted for. The cost of the residual value guarantee which might be triggered if the lease is not renewed only has to be accounted for if it is “probable”, meaning more than 50 per cent likely.

Analysts David Gonzales and Alastair Drake wrote: “The decision to extend a lease term will depend in part on the hyperscalers’ willingness to make additional investments in hardware, since key technological components installed in data centres typically have a useful life of four to six years . . . A strict application of the guidance may lead many lease renewals to fall below the ‘reasonably certain’ standard.”

The largest private credit data centre deal is a case in point, Moody’s said. Meta’s planned Hyperion facility in Louisiana, housed in a special purpose vehicle called Beignet Investor that has financing from Blue Owl Capital, will be leased to the company for an initial term of four years, but with options to renew for up to 20. Meta is also guaranteeing compensation of up to $28bn if the value of the property falls.

Those details are included in footnotes to Meta’s most recent annual report, and no liabilities are included on the company’s balance sheet. “As of December 31 2025, RVG payments are not probable and therefore, no liability has been recorded,” the company wrote.

Moody’s said it would do its own probability assessments when deciding what future liabilities to consider when it gives a credit rating to a tech company.

“A quantitative debt adjustment would likely be made where we believe the reported lease liability understates the likely cash outflow,” it said, “taking into consideration the likely renewal period or the likely exercise of the RVG, or both.”

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https://x.com/AndaluciaJunta/status/2023668770389246423?s=20

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