S&P Global Ratings / Yahoo Finance (briefs.co) · 2026-07-21
S&P Downgrades Oracle to BBB-, One Notch Above Junk, as AI Capex Burns $23.7B in Free Cash Flow
S&P cut Oracle's long-term issuer credit rating from BBB to BBB- (one notch above junk) and its short-term rating from A-2 to A-3, citing negative free cash flow of $23.7B in FY2026 as data-center capex outpaced operating cash generation. Moody's concurrently holds a negative outlook, signalling a further downgrade is possible. Oracle's 5-year CDS spread hit an 18-year high, making it the most acute single-name credit stress event in the AI-capex issuer universe.
Reuters (cited by MLQ.ai news aggregator) / S&P Global · 2026-08-20
Hyperscaler Bond Issuance Hits ~$220B YTD as Spreads Widen; 78 of 91 Bonds Issued in 2026 Now Trade at Higher Yields
Reuters data (cited ~2 weeks before 2026-09-03) shows median spreads on 2-to-4-year hyperscaler paper rose to 40 bps over Treasuries from 30 bps in 2025, and 78 of 91 bonds issued in 2026 are now trading at wider yields than at issuance — a clear secondary-market deterioration signal. The 10-year Treasury at 4.69% (Aug 20) is raising the benchmark for all upcoming AI-capex financings across Alphabet, Amazon, Meta, and Oracle.
SEC Filing (Form 424B2 / FWP) — Equinix, Inc. · 2026-08-06
Equinix Prices $3B Four-Tranche Senior Notes Offering (2029–2036) at 5.00%–5.80% to Fund Data-Center Expansion
Equinix (rated Baa1/BBB+/BBB+ stable across all three agencies) priced $3B of senior unsecured notes across four tranches maturing 2029–2036, with coupons ranging from 5.00% to 5.80% — the highest coupons Equinix has printed in this cycle, reflecting the rising-rate and wider-spread environment. As a critical data-center landlord to AI hyperscalers, Equinix's cost of capital directly sets a floor for third-party data-center financing across the AI-capex ecosystem.