Corporate bond trading hits new heights as AI boom fuels market activity

Companies are borrowing more money than ever to build artificial intelligence systems and expand into private credit markets. And that’s pushing corporate bond trading to levels never seen before.

Last year saw an average of $50 billion worth of corporate bonds trade hands every single day. The figure comes from Crisil Coalition Greenwich, which tracks financial market data. That beat 2024’s daily average of $46 billion and set a new record.

Companies are rushing to fund big AI projects right now. Data centers that power these new technologies need a lot of money. Wall Street firms like Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan Chase are predicting record sales of top-rated corporate bonds this year.

A lot of this borrowing happens in private markets. Last year Cryptopolitan reported Meta Platforms and Blue Owl Capital borrowed roughly $27 billion in high-quality debt to build a data center in rural Louisiana. Deals like this are creating more trading opportunities in private credit. Investors there want more options to exit their positions.

Rehan Latif oversees credit trading globally at Morgan Stanley. “I view it very much as the biggest single opportunity coming into 2026,” he said. “Every single time a new market is created, there is a little bit of a lag before the secondary market kicks off. The reality is this is the right time for it to happen.”

Tech companies and utility firms often sell bonds with longer payback periods to finance AI-related projects. Sam Berberian leads credit trading at Citadel Securities. He and Jeff Eason, a senior analyst at the firm, say these longer-term bonds create more trading action.

These bonds see bigger price swings when interest rates change. Hedge funds and active traders like that because they can profit from market moves.

Companies are borrowing more for AI ventures

Investors have to watch their holdings carefully. They don’t want too much money tied up in tech companies and utilities. There’s growing worry about a possible AI bubble too. That’s pushing investors to buy more protection through credit default swaps. Market makers say this is adding even more trading activity.

Bond trading has been climbing for years. New methods like portfolio trading help. Investors can buy or sell large groups of bonds all at once. The market borrowed tools from stock trading. Bond-focused exchange-traded funds, computer-based execution systems, and fast trading strategies all help. More trading generally narrows the gap between buying and selling prices. Bonds become easier to trade.

Investors are moving toward broader strategies now. They use many different financial tools instead of betting on individual companies. Alex Finston helps run credit trading for the United States at Goldman Sachs. He says these changes have cut the cost of trading corporate bonds by up to two-thirds in recent years.

“The scalability by which our clients are able to access liquidity has never been better and I would expect that that will continue to grow over time,” Finston said.

Automated trading keeps expanding but traditional phone-based trading still matters

Grant Nachman started and runs the credit firm Shorecliff Asset Management. He says computer systems can only go so far. They struggle with bonds that don’t trade frequently. Investment firms also risk losing influence if they move too much business away from traditional trading relationships.

“There’s likely a ceiling on how much electronic trading there can be,” he said. Getting allocated bonds in new deals matters. So does receiving market research, gathering market insights, and keeping long-standing business relationships. “It helps to be a relevant voice counterparty to get some of that.”

However trades happen, 2025 was busy across bonds, crypto, and AI stocks. Activity will probably keep growing. Related markets are seeing increased volume too. Credit ETFs and credit derivatives both are.

“We expect trading activity to pick up in 2026,” said Citadel Securities’ Berberian.

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