AI is taking over the capital markets.
Big Tech’s race to build data centers, secure power, and expand infrastructure is driving a wave of borrowing and dealmaking:
The IG market is absorbing record hyperscaler issuance
Private credit is a cornerstone of data center development
Private equity is buying up infrastructure and utilities
Read the full breakdown below.
This Week’s Data
2026 Midyear Credit Outlook (Apollo)
Investment Grade Borrowing
Hyperscalers are expected to spend $800B on data center investment in 2026, with annual spending exceeding $1T from 2027 through 2030.1
As capex weighs on free cash flow, Big Tech is turning to the investment grade market.
Hyperscaler IG issuance through June is over 6x the 5-year average of $34B before 2025. Hyperscalers now account for 9% of total IG issuance, up from 2% in 2022 to 2024.2
Investors are demanding more compensation to absorb this surge in supply. Hyperscaler IG bonds trade at spreads 25 to 50 bps wider than the broader IG index.
Low leverage and strong cash generation mean these companies are still very strong credits. But investors are growing wary of increasing concentration to the same group of issuers and the AI industry.