Corporate debt nears $60 trillion says OECD report

in 2025, corporate debt  increaseto an all-time high of about $36 trillion in bonds and $23.1 trillion in syndicated debt for a total of $59.5 trillion, says the OECD Global Debt Report published yesterday,.

Given the amount of capital expenditure required to finance the expansion of AI, it is expected that corporate debt requirements will continue to increase, says the report.

In 2025, nine hyperscalers raised $122 billion from the bond markets, accounting for nearly half of all issues by technology companies globally.

Corporate debt also increased in 2025 to an all-time high of about USD 36 trillion in bonds and USD 23.1 trillion in syndicated debt for a total of USD 59.5 trillion. Given the amount of capital expenditure required to finance the expansion of AI, it is expected that corporate debt requirements will continue to increase.

In 2025, nine large players commonly known as ‘hyperscalers’ raised a total of USD 122 billion from the bond markets, accounting for nearly half of all issues by technology companies globally. According to the Global Debt Report, capital expenditure projections indicate that this is only the beginning. These nine companies have projected capital expenditures of $4.1 trillion between 2026 and 2030, about 36% more than the total capital expenditures of all US non-financial companies in 2025. If half of these investments were financed through bond markets, these nine companies would account for 15% of the historical average annual issuance of non-financial corporations globally. These developments could lead corporate debt markets to become more similar to equity markets. With 12% of the global market capitalisation, these nine companies are already a key part of global equity markets.

According to the Global Debt Report, capital expenditure projections indicate that this is only the beginning.

These nine companies have projected capital expenditures of $4.1 trillion between 2026 and 2030, about 36% more than the total capital expenditures of all US non-financial companies in 2025.

If half of these investments were financed through bond markets, these nine companies would account for 15% of the historical average annual issuance of non-financial corporations globally.

These developments could lead corporate debt markets to become more similar to equity markets. With 12% of the global market capitalisation, these nine companies are already a key part of global equity markets.