The busiest day in the history of U.S. corporate bonds! Amazon leads $50 billion in debt issuance

# Dong Jing

Source: Wallstreetcn

More than ten blue-chip companies in the U.S. corporate bond market raised over $65 billion in total, breaking the previous record of $52 billion set by Verizon in 2013. Amazon was the biggest player, raising $37 billion in U.S. dollar bonds (with subscription demand reaching $123 billion). Combined with its debut euro bond, the total reached nearly $50 billion. Analysts noted that a brief easing in Middle East tensions opened a financing window, prompting companies to seize the opportunity to enter the market en masse.

The U.S. corporate bond market set an all-time record for single-day issuance on Tuesday, with Amazon as the undisputed leader of the wave.

On March 10, according to the Financial Times, nearly a dozen blue-chip companies led by Amazon flooded the bond market on Tuesday, raising over $65 billion in total—breaking the single-day record of $52 billion set by Verizon in 2013.

People familiar with the matter said the e-commerce giant launched 11 tranches of U.S. dollar bonds on Tuesday, targeting $37 billion, a sharp upward revision from the initial guidance of $25–30 billion, driven by around $123 billion in subscription demand. Meanwhile, Amazon plans to launch its debut euro bond as early as Wednesday, aiming to raise €10 billion, bringing the total financing close to $50 billion across the two issuances.

Besides Amazon, nearly a dozen other blue-chip firms, including Honeywell Aerospace, Toyota Financial Services, and Ford Motor Credit, also tapped the market on Tuesday. Analysts attributed the wave to a brief stabilization in market sentiment after more than a week of conflict in the Middle East.

The concentrated issuance reflects high uncertainty over corporate financing windows.

“The window to get these deals done is getting smaller,” said Mark Clegg, senior fixed-income trader at Allspring Global Investments. “As soon as there are signs of stability, capital markets participants have to act immediately. The market has gone from planning week-to-week to hour-to-hour.”

### Tech giants’ AI arms race drives borrowing spree

Amazon’s bond sale is the latest acceleration in large tech companies raising capital for AI infrastructure.

Last November, Amazon returned to the U.S. bond market for the first time in three years, raising $15 billion. Rival Oracle followed last month with a $25 billion bond sale, while Alphabet raised over $30 billion via multi-currency issuances in U.S. dollars, pounds sterling, and Swiss francs.

In February, Amazon disclosed a record annual capital expenditure plan of $200 billion for this year—surpassing rivals including Google and Microsoft—shocking the market. Most of the funds will be allocated to AI and data center infrastructure.

CEO Andy Jassy said during an earnings call last month:

“We are going to invest aggressively in this space… we intend to invest to be a leader in this area.”

He added that the company is confident in its forecast for data center computing demand and plans to boost spending on in-house AI chips, robotics, and low-Earth-orbit satellites.

In terms of pricing, the longest-dated tranche of Amazon’s U.S. dollar bond is a 50-year issue, which was finally priced at a spread of 130 basis points over U.S. Treasuries—down from initial talks of 155 basis points—showing strong investor demand gave the issuer favorable negotiating terms.

Even so, the new bonds offered a meaningful premium over Amazon’s existing secondary-market bonds. Some investors estimated the extra yield at more than 10 basis points—a rare occurrence in the current environment.

“We thought it was very attractive,” said Richard Cheng, head of investment-grade corporate bonds at Nuveen, noting that Amazon’s diversified retail revenue base and policy of not paying dividends strengthen its credit quality.

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