US investment-grade bond sales hit third straight monthly record as AI spending reshapes corporate debt markets

Corporate America just set another borrowing record, and the reason has less to do with traditional business expansion and more to do with the insatiable appetite for artificial intelligence infrastructure. US investment-grade bond sales have now notched a third consecutive monthly record, driven by a wave of mega-deals from the biggest names in tech. Total US corporate bond issuance reached $1,681 billion through July 2026, according to SIFMA data. That represents a 26.9% jump compared to the same period last year. To put that in perspective, companies are issuing debt at a clip that could push annual totals somewhere between $1.8 trillion and $2.25 trillion by year’s end. The AI borrowing binge Hyperscale technology firms, the Microsofts, Metas, Alphabets, Amazons, and Nvidias of the world, have collectively issued roughly $225 billion in bonds year-to-date as of mid-2026. That’s a staggering 973.7% increase from the prior year. Microsoft set the tone on August 1, 2026, with a $19.75 billion multi-tranche investment-grade bond offering. That deal ranks as the fifth-largest corporate bond sale in global history. SpaceX, meanwhile, raised $25 billion in a single issuance back in Ju...