Global corporate debt sales neared record levels in 2025, driven by low rates and the race to fund AI infrastructure.
The $1.7 trillion in bond issuances fell short only of 2020’s pandemic-fueled rush, with 30% of it related to AI, as Big Tech companies took on debt to fund data center and energy manufacturing.
Relatively cheap borrowing, as trade tensions ease and the worst of the post-COVID-19 inflation cools, is also a factor, the Financial Times reported. Despite fears of an AI bubble, issuance is expected to increase further next year to beyond the pandemic record, a Goldman Sachs report forecast.