In the 1986 movie Top Gun, a seasoned officer scolds a cocky young pilot who is taking too much risk in the air by saying “... your ego is writing checks your body can’t cash.” We love this analogy for the early November 2025 hiccup in everything Artificial Intelligence (“AI”), as the markets pivoted from applauding each announcement of extraordinary AI spending to voicing skepticism at the enormous cost and uncertain payoff. And it is not just in the equity markets. As leverage increases, investors are more discerning about the debt that is fueling the AI infrastructure build as well. The Wall Street Journal had a recent article detailing the increasing amounts ofdebt from AI-related issuers and noting the widening spreads hyperscalers are being forced to pay as an indication of the rising capital expenditure (“CapEx”) scrutiny.

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