SpaceX just pulled off the largest investment-grade bond offering in recent memory, raising $25 billion in senior unsecured notes on June 23. The demand was staggering, with investor orders piling up between $85 billion and $90 billion, forcing the company to upsize from its original $20 billion target.
But here’s the thing. Beneath that headline-grabbing demand lies a more nuanced story. Bond investors priced these notes with wider spreads than what you’d typically see for BBB-rated peers. That gap between enthusiasm and caution tells you everything about where the market’s head is at regarding AI spending right now.
The numbers behind the deal
The offering came just 11 days after SpaceX’s IPO on June 12, which priced shares at $135 and valued the company at roughly $1.8 trillion.
The bonds span a range of maturities from 2031 to 2056, with interest rates running from 5.35% to 6.65%. The 2036 tranche landed at a 1.4 percentage point spread over Treasuries, notably wider than what similarly rated investment-grade companies typically pay.
