AI-Linked Companies Issue About $466 Billion in Debt as Protection Costs Rise

AI-linked companies have issued about $466 billion in debt in 2026, more than four times the amount issued over the same period in 2025, as investors pay more to protect against defaults by several major borrowers.

The comparable 2025 debt total was $101 billion. The increase has brought more attention to whether spending on AI infrastructure will produce enough cash flow and profit to support the borrowing.

Meta’s five-year credit default swap (CDS) spread reached a record 108 basis points, while Nvidia’s reached a record 101 basis points. Spreads for Alphabet and Amazon also hit records.

Costs differed sharply among borrowers. Oracle’s five-year spread reached 322 basis points, compared with 288 basis points on Oct. 15. SpaceX’s spread reached 226 basis points. AI cloud provider CoreWeave’s stood at about 1,090 basis points, and some of its bonds fell into distressed-debt territory.

Trading in the contracts has grown. Average weekly CDS trading tied to seven AI-linked companies exceeded $9 billion in September, up from less than $2 billion in July. The seven companies were Oracle, SpaceX, Alphabet, Amazon, Meta, Broadcom and Nvidia.