NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA.US) and SpaceX (SPCX.US) lead the way in issuing massive debt, with the amount of investment-grade bond issuance in the US hitting a record high in June.

NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA.US) and SpaceX (SPCX.US) each issued $25 billion in high-grade bonds, driving the US investment-grade bond market to a record high for the month of June, reflecting the deep reshaping of the debt market by the hot trend of artificial intelligence infrastructure construction. On June 25th, according to Bloomberg data, the issuance of investment-grade bonds in the US this month has surpassed the previous historical record, far exceeding traders' previous expectations for June. Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Noel Hebert said that the total issuance of high-grade bonds this month is expected to exceed $200 billion. Strong market demand is an important support for this round of issuance. Although interest rates are currently much higher than in 2020, credit spreads are still near historic lows, effectively offsetting the pressure of high interest rates on issuance costs and making borrowing conditions still attractive to issuers. At the same time, the market expects the Fed to raise interest rates in the near future, prompting companies to secure funding before financing costs rise further. AI arms race driving tech giants to issue debt in large amounts The core DRIVER of this round of investment-grade bond issuance wave is the intensive financing of technology companies for the construction of artificial intelligence infrastructure. NVIDIA Corporation and SpaceX each issued $25 billion in high-grade bonds this month, with a total of $50 billion in monthly bond issuance becoming a key variable driving the overall data higher, also causing the June issuance volume to significantly exceed traders' previous forecast range. The debt market is increasingly dominated by the AI investment needs of technology companies. Massive AI construction, data center expansion, and related infrastructure deployments all require continuous and large capital investments, and the investment-grade bond market, with its scale and liquidity, has become the preferred financing channel for these enterprises. Looking at the year as a whole, the investment-grade bond market in 2026 continued its strong start. It set a record for monthly issuances in January and has remained high for several months. As of now, the total issuance for the year has reached $1.15 trillion, on par with the same period in the year with the highest annual issuance volume in history. According to Bloomberg data, the eventual total issuance for that year was $1.75 trillion, still the highest annual record in the market's history. If the current pace continues in the second half of the year, whether the total issuance of investment-grade bonds for the whole of 2026 can challenge or even surpass this historical peak will become the focus of market attention. According to Bloomberg, analysts expect the issuance momentum in July to continue, with an estimated additional supply of around $100 billion that month. Despite the interest rate environment being far from the ultra-low levels of 2020, the continued tightening of credit spreads has partly mitigated the impact of relatively high absolute interest rate levels. Winifred Cisar, Global Strategy Director at CreditSights, said, "Relatively stable and tightening spreads have mitigated the impact of high rates." The strong absorption capacity of investors for new bond issuances further maintains a virtuous cycle in the market. Perceived credit risk is close to historic lows, meaning institutional investors are willing to accept large volumes of supply with a lower risk premium, providing issuers with a rare low-cost financing window. According to Bloomberg, Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh has explicitly stated that he is committed to lowering US inflation, leading to market expectations of an imminent rate hike. This expectation has directly catalyzed companies' early financing activities - many companies are choosing to complete debt issuances as soon as possible before borrowing costs may rise further. Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Noel Hebert said, "Everyone wants to issue bonds now." He expects the issuance of high-grade bonds in the US this month to exceed $200 billion. This logic is in response to the borrowing frenzy in the near-zero interest rate environment after the 2020 pandemic, but the driving factor has shifted from loose monetary policy to early avoidance of future tightening. This article is reprinted from "Wall Street News", author: Dong Jing; GMTEight editor: Huang Xiaodong.