The Zhitong Finance App learned that, driven by the boom in artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure investment, the scale of US investment-grade corporate bond issuance is reaching a record high, surpassing the record set by centralized corporate financing during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Despite the recent rise in US bond yields and rising corporate financing costs, tech giants' continued expansion of AI capital spending is still driving the global bond market to usher in a new round of financing boom.
According to data, with the completion of the pricing of the new bond deal on Monday, the total amount of US investment-grade corporate bonds issued this year is expected to reach 1.76 trillion US dollars, surpassing the record of 1.75 trillion US dollars set in 2020.
Market analysts have generally predicted that as technology companies invest heavily in AI infrastructure, the scale of US investment-grade bond issuance in 2026 is expected to set a new historical record. According to the data, since this year, the scale of AI-related financing in the global high-rated bond market has exceeded 300 billion US dollars, which is close to three times the level for the full year of 2025. Among them, the US market has had 9 large-scale bond transactions with a single issuance scale of 25 billion US dollars or more this year. With the exception of Skydance (SKYD.US) raising capital for the acquisition deal, the rest came from technology companies, highlighting that AI investment has become a core driving force for the growth of corporate bond issuance.
Lindsay Rosner, head of multi-asset fixed income investing at Goldman Sachs Asset Management, said, “We are witnessing one of the most capital-intensive corporate investment cycles in a generation.”
It is worth noting that this financing boom did not happen in an environment of low interest rates. As concerns about inflation heats up and the market re-evaluates the amount of monetary tightening that the Federal Reserve may adopt in the future, US Treasury yields have recently risen sharply, and the yield for some time periods has risen to the highest level since 2002.
At the same time, investors are also beginning to question whether the bond market can continue to absorb such huge new supply, and whether the huge amount of money invested by companies in AI infrastructure can ultimately generate sufficient returns. Despite these uncertainties, the US investment-grade bond market still recorded monthly historical records for four months of issuance this year.
However, after entering October, corporate debt issuance activity slowed down markedly due to the sell-off in the global bond market. Up to now, the issuance scale of US investment-grade bonds in October was about 79 billion US dollars, which is significantly lower than in July, which had the lowest issuance volume before this year, and still reached 139.6 billion US dollars in that month.
Recently, increased volatility in the bond market has prompted companies to postpone their bond issuance plans several times, hoping to wait for a more favorable financing window.
Although US Treasury yields have fallen more than 20 basis points from recent highs, the average credit spread on investment-grade corporate bonds was still close to the widest level since 2026 last weekend, offsetting the improvement in financing costs brought about by falling yields on some treasury bonds. Despite this, companies in the US and elsewhere continue to issue bonds to support established capital expenses, mergers and acquisitions, and the refinancing of existing debts. Some companies even choose early financing to prevent further increases in borrowing costs in the coming months.
Nor is this bond-issuing boom unique to the US market. According to data, the total amount of publicly underwritten bonds issued worldwide is less than 70 billion US dollars from the historical record of 6.61 trillion US dollars set in 2025, which means that the global bond market is also expected to set a new annual financing record this year.
However, rising interest rates are also putting pressure on bond investment returns. According to the Bloomberg Index, as of last Friday, US investment-grade bonds had a cumulative decline of 1.49% this year. Some newly issued bonds experienced significant declines even in the first few days after listing and trading. However, falling bond prices have not stopped investors from continuing to invest in this asset class.
According to LSEG Lipper data, by the end of September, US short-term and medium-term high-rated bond funds had accumulated net inflows of about US$235 billion this year, providing important demand support for companies to continue issuing new bonds.
Tim Kurpis, head of investment-grade credit at AllianceBernstein (AllianceBernstein), pointed out that judging from overall financing activities, rising borrowing costs have not significantly inhibited companies' financing behavior. He said that most of the financing needs associated with AI infrastructure construction come from large technology companies that are relatively insensitive to changes in interest rates. These companies have strong financial strength and view AI infrastructure as a long-term strategic investment, so they tend to continue to advance related projects even as financing costs rise.
In contrast, non-tech companies are reacting more clearly to the high interest rate environment. Some companies are increasing the use of equity financing in mergers and acquisitions while reducing the issuance of long-term bonds.
This difference also reflects that AI investment is changing the financing structure of the US corporate bond market: with strong financing capabilities and huge capital expenditure plans, tech giants have become an important force driving the growth of investment-grade bond issuance.
Notably, the record for the last round of bond issuance set in 2020 took place in a very different market environment. At the time, in response to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the economy and financial markets, the Federal Reserve drastically lowered the policy interest rate to a level close to zero and promised to buy corporate bonds to support the financial market and the real economy.
Stimulated by loose monetary policy, the issuance scale of US investment-grade corporate bonds increased dramatically, and the total amount issued in that year was about 30% higher than the previous record. Since then, the total amount of US investment-grade bonds issued in 2025 reached 1.59 trillion US dollars, the highest level since 2020. Unlike the financing boom that relied on ultra-low interest rates and policy support during the pandemic, the 2026 record was mainly driven by AI infrastructure investment and the long-term financing needs of large technology companies.
As the construction of AI computing power centers, chips and related infrastructure continues to expand, the demand for debt financing by technology companies is likely to remain high. However, against the backdrop of high interest rates, widening credit spreads, and investors increasingly concerned about the return on AI investment, whether the bond market can continue to absorb huge new supply will be the focus of future market attention.