INTEL: US investment-grade bond sales set to hit annual record above 2020’s $1.75 trillion
US investment-grade bond sales are poised to set an annual record on Monday, surpassing the $1.75 trillion issued during the pandemic-fueled borrowing boom of 2020, Bloomberg reported. The report attributes the surge to companies raising more debt to fund AI spending.
Investment-grade bonds are issued by companies with higher credit ratings, and 2020 had been the benchmark year for US corporate borrowing, when firms rushed to raise cash during the pandemic. This year’s total is on course to exceed it.
AI-related issuance
Separate figures show more than $300 billion of AI-related bonds have been sold in global investment-grade markets so far in 2026. That is almost three times the total for all of 2025.
The reporting does not break down which companies account for the AI-related issuance, and it gives no forecast for the rest of the year. The sourced facts are the record pace of US issuance, the 2020 comparison and the link to AI spending.
