In 2026, the total volume of bonds issued for US data centers reached $80 billion. According to a Forbes analysis of FactSet data, approximately $37 billion of this amount is rated below BBB, which classifies these securities as junk-rated debt.
The volume of junk-rated bonds for data centers has increased significantly compared to the previous year. In 2025, the total issuance of such debt was approximately $8.6 billion, meaning the current figure is more than four times higher.
The funds are allocated to 16 projects associated with major AI companies, including Amazon, Meta, and Nvidia. However, the credit ratings reflect the financial stability of the developers rather than the tenants.
By mid-October 2026, the average yield on these junk-rated bonds rose to nearly 10%. Additionally, corporate debt of neocloud provider CoreWeave is trading below 80 cents on the dollar, while developers Firmus and AirTrunk have canceled or delayed their IPOs.
