For several years now, artificial intelligence has been the financial market’s new darling. While there are high hopes for future profits, this vision has yet to become a reality, and the first questions are beginning to arise: various signs are prompting some analysts to warn of a potential financial bubble.
This year, the five largest tech companies will collectively spend around $800 billion on data centers and AI infrastructure. This represents nearly 40% of their total revenue—more than the oil industry spent during the shale boom or the telecommunications industry during the dot-com bubble. However, analysts expect at least three of these companies to report negative free cash flow in at least one quarter of the year.
To finance this expansion, debt is rising at a rate that is beginning to attract attention. Since the beginning of 2024, the Big Five have raised $260 billion in the bond markets—equivalent to a quarter of all debt issued by publicly traded non-financial companies in the United States—and have accumulated $820 billion in lease commitments for data centers that have not yet been built.
The problem is that the arguments that for years justified this investment strategy are beginning to lose their appeal: first, the argument about cash generation fell apart; then, the argument about share buybacks as a sign of financial strength; and finally, the argument about reasonable valuations. Today, investors evaluate these companies based on future revenue contracts—long-term agreements to sell computing capacity to developers like OpenAI and Anthropic—which grew from $730 billion to $2 trillion in just one year. These contracts form a chain of trust that holds as long as developers continue to raise sufficient capital. If this does not happen, the model risks collapsing.
Flight to real assets
When volatility arises, each major phase of sector-focused investment tends to shift capital toward where the market perceives greater relative strength. After 2008, that strength was found in liquidity; following the 2020 crisis, it was found in sovereign debt. Today, with the Federal Reserve limited in its ability to implement aggressive rate cuts and with foreign holders of Treasury bonds showing growing mistrust, neither of these two classic safe havens offers the same certainty.
A proper interpretation of the economic cycle must take into account the so-called “flight to real assets.” The shift toward assets with intrinsic value—real estate, infrastructure, commodities, or self-storage, which The Wall Street Journal has described as a recession-proof industry—reflects the need for a safe haven. Cohen and Steers even predicted a multi-decade opportunity for real assets due to factors such as inflation and rate cuts.
It is in contexts like this that the Yale Endowment Model—developed by David Swensen during his 36 years as the university’s chief investment officer—takes on particular significance. The rule states that an investor should allocate at least 20% of their portfolio to alternatives such as commercial real estate, rather than relying strictly on traditional stocks and bonds. Physical assets do not require any technological chain of trust to maintain their value; they do not depreciate if a language model loses relevance, nor do they depend on a startup securing its next round of funding.
Thus, the largest investment in digital infrastructure in history is, paradoxically, reminding the market of the value of the tangible.
It is true that, without fail,the dollar ultimately prevails over the peso. But it is also true that this strength is relative, and that the U.S. currency is not immune to the ups and downs of the global economy. A simple example suffices to illustrate this situation: in 1964, $20,000 was enough to buy an average home inthe U.S.; by the year 2000, that figure had risen to $120,000; and today, a buyer needs $400,000 to purchase a similar property.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ CPI,the dollar’s purchasing power declined by approximately 83% between 1975 and 2025. Meanwhile, the DXY Index, a financial indicator that measures the dollar’s value against six other currencies, fell by about 10% in the first half of 2025, marking its worst performance in 50 years. The international context marked by conflict also does not allow for predictions of stability in the near future, and even consulting firms such as Morgan Stanley have anticipated greater volatility for the U.S. dollar in 2026.
Paradoxically,it is foreign savers who suffer the most from this situation. They have no access to fiscal stimulus measures or social programs financed by the Fed’s money supply expansion, nor can they obtain cheap credit in dollars. As the Cantillon Effect suggests, expanding the money supply enriches those closest to the creation of money and impoverishes those furthest from it. Small and medium-sized savers represent the last link in this monetary chain.
Dollars kept under the mattress do nothing but lose value year after year, regardless of their current or historical exchange rate against the peso. The data shows that a dollar kept in savings is a dollar sitting idle and, therefore, a loss of capital. Generating returns is the only proven method to counteract the devaluation of money, and to generate them, it is necessary to put savings to work.
Contrary to what common sense—shaped by a lack of financial literacy—might suggest, investing is not a risk but a protective measure. It is worth noting that investing is not necessarily synonymous with the stock market. As the example of real estate demonstrates,there are assets that serve as a safety net without exposing investors to the frenetic pace of the stock market.
To give just one example, storage facilities that were worth $5 million 25 years ago are now worth nearly $20 million. Those who invested in them made a profit and avoided risk, as they are part of a mass-market industry in the U.S. with transparent valuations and a massive market.
The dollar remains the world’s dominant currency, but it is no guarantee in and of itself: this is the key point savers need to keep in mind. Those who understand this will be better equipped to weather volatility. Those who do not run the risk of getting caught up in a cycle reminiscent of the myth of Sisyphus, condemned to push a boulder uphill forever, only to watch it roll back down again and again.
Marcos Victorica is Founder and CEO of BAS STORAGE.
Company that is revolutionizing the American real estate market by creating a product based on the American economic infrastructure.