Wall Street’s bond window is wide open—and companies are leaping through it.

Over the past week, a wave of companies rushed to tap debt markets:

• Nebius: Announced a $3.75 billion bond offering a day after inking its $27 billion Meta Platforms deal in order to fund data center expansion.
• Amazon: Raised $37 billion in the US bond market (with another deal planned for 14.5 billion euros), drawing $126 billion in demand and marking the fourth-largest corporate bond sale ever.
• Honeywell: Issued $16 billion in a nine-part bond deal ahead of its planned three-way spinoff, set to complete by Q3.
• Salesforce: Sold $25 billion in bonds but saw relatively weak demand, with the deal just 1.4x oversubscribed compared to the 4.1x average this year, per Bloomberg data.
• Airbnb: Launched a $2.5 billion bond deal that will double its debt load, reversing years of deleveraging and surprising investors.

Debt deluge

Last Tuesday marked the biggest day of investment-grade bond sales ever, and last week saw the second-highest volume of corporate bond sales in history. Companies are taking advantage of brief moments of market calm when oil prices stabilize and volatility drops to tap debt markets before conditions shift again.

There’s also growing concern that borrowing costs could soon rise. With oil prices remaining above $100 per barrel, inflation could soon rise, prompting the Fed to take action. While the FOMC will likely keep interest rates steady after its meeting concludes tomorrow, markets now expect the Fed to raise interest rates over the next three months rather than cut them.

Finally, public credit markets remain highly supportive and resilient—at least for now. But in private markets, concerns of a bubble have been brewing, as institutions from banks to private credit firms continue to cap redemption rates. Companies want to get ahead of any emerging stress, which could spread into broader credit markets and tighten liquidity across the system.

What does this mean for investors?

Stocks generally fell after companies completed their bond sales when markets digested the increase in leverage. But investors should take a close look at the motivations behind each deal.

For Nebius, the issuance appears opportunistic, with the company looking to ride the momentum from its Meta deal while funding data expansion. Although shares fell 10.41% today, Citi initiated coverage with a Buy rating, saying the firm is a winner among the neoclouds data centers, and that investors should ignore short-term volatility—though analysts did label it a “high risk” Buy.

Salesforce, on the other hand, signals more caution. Ongoing AI disruption concerns have weighed on sentiment, and investors are demanding wider spreads on its debt. Unlike Nebius, the issuance feels more necessary than opportunistic, pointing to weaker confidence.

While many companies are seizing the opportunity, given current market conditions, they’re not all doing so on the same terms, and investors should watch how the proceeds are used.—SY

🟢 What’s up

• Delta Air Lines rose 6.54% and American Airlines popped 3.48% after both companies held firm on guidance and lifted revenue outlooks, pointing to resilient travel demand despite higher fuel costs.
• Qualcomm gained 1.7% on news of a $20 billion share buyback program.
• Oklo jumped 1.41% following an agreement with the US Department of Energy to support its first nuclear reactor.
• Uber gained 4.18% and Lyft advanced 3.62% after Nvidia expanded partnerships with both firms in its push into autonomous driving.
• Six Flags climbed 7.5% after activist investor Jana Partners urged the company to explore a potential sale.
• Seagate rose 5.59%, Western Digital added 9.64%, and Micron gained 4.5% ahead of the latter’s earnings tomorrow.
• Stablecoin issuer Circle Internet Group added 5.15% on a Buy upgrade from Clear Street, citing rising USDC adoption by both institutions and consumers.

What’s down

• Honeywell fell 1.32% as Middle East shipping disruptions threaten to delay revenue.
• Aldeyra Therapeutics plummeted 70.69% after the FDA declined approval for its eye-disease drug.
• Tencent Music Entertainment tanked 3.42% despite solid earnings, weighed down by a shrinking user base.
• Eli Lilly declined 5.94% after analysts downgraded the stock and cut long-term obesity-drug market forecasts amid rising competition.

Emma Pratt is the cofounder of Girl Math Capital, an alternative investing community for women that aims to democratize access to investing education and deal flow. She’ll be celebrating Women’s History Month with us at the upcoming Brew Markets event, Eyes on Her: Women, Wealth and What’s Next, on March 18th. Ahead of the event, we caught up with her to hear how she’s betting on what others still undervalue: community.

2026 is already rewriting the investing playbook. What’s one opportunity investors should be leaning into right now that still feels underpriced, misunderstood, or underdiscussed?

One opportunity that still feels widely underappreciated is the value of community-driven consumer brands. Some of the companies with the most momentum today are launching with an audience already built in, whether it’s founders who double as creators or brands that build in public from day one. That kind of community dramatically lowers customer acquisition costs and creates faster feedback loops for product development and go-to-market strategy.

Traditional investors might underestimate the value of a social media following, but community is increasingly becoming one of the most valuable moats a company can build. We’re seeing this play out across brands like Bandit with its running community, Good Girl Snacks’ viral pickle content, and new skincare brand beecee, which is building its product alongside its audience before launching this spring.

Community is also the foundation of everything we do at Girl Math Capital, so we’re very bullish on businesses that treat their audience as a core asset, not just a marketing channel.

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The worst part of school was getting a report card (that, and the swirlies). Any student worth their pencil shavings would jump at the opportunity to reduce the number of reports they had to bring home.

Many publicly traded companies feel the exact same way—and the SEC might give them what they want.

The Wall Street Journal reported yesterday that the SEC could file a proposal as soon as next month to eliminate mandatory quarterly earnings reports, and give companies the option to file just two reports per year. It’s the latest call for change to financial reporting requirements, which began back in September when the Long-Term Stock Exchange first floated the idea, supported by President Trump.

If and when the regulator does make that proposal, it will also open up a 30-day public comment period for Americans to make their thoughts known about whether or not publicly traded companies should get off the hook for quarterly updates.

Some people will highlight the pros of twice-a-year reports:

• Building quarterly reports is costly and time-consuming
• The burden of frequent reporting dissuades companies from going public, limiting widespread access to investment opportunities
• Reporting earnings every quarter keeps management too focused on the short term, but reducing reports will turn attention to building long-term shareholder value
• Other markets (including Europe and the UK) have allowed public companies to choose their reporting frequency for ages, and the world didn’t end

Some will point out the cons of cutting financial reporting in half:

• Everyday investors who rely on quarterly reporting for insights will be left without the data needed to make informed investment decisions
• Quarterly reports are accompanied by earnings calls, which also provide analysts the opportunity to question management and uncover helpful details about company finances
• The transparency of quarterly reports encourages investors to put their money into markets, confident that they can accurately evaluate their investments—reducing reporting could potentially reduce capital allocation

There are plenty of opposing opinions about mandatory quarterly earnings, with such luminaries as Warren Buffett and Jamie Dimon chiming in with their thoughts on the issue a few years ago. The debate is only just beginning, but the days of enjoying must-watch, market-shaking earnings reports every three months may soon be coming to an end.—MR

• A journalist has been threatened by Polymarket bettors to change his story so they can win a bet.
• Mastercard is making a $1.8 billion bet on stablecoins with its acquisition of BVNK.
• A Moody’s economist sees a greater than 50% chance of a US recession as Iran war tensions escalate.
• Fund managers are hoarding cash at levels not seen since the pandemic.
• Defense stocks aren’t rallying despite geopolitical tensions. Here’s what’s holding them back.
• Alibaba is joining the AI race with its new enterprise tool, Wukong.
• Amazon is speeding things up with new one- and three-hour delivery options.

Economic reports: The February PPI reading will provide some insight into the state of wholesale inflation.

Earnings announcements: General Mills, Macy’s, Williams-Sonoma, Micron, Five Below, and Jabil.

Everything else: The Fed’s two-day meeting concludes tomorrow, and all eyes will be on Jerome Powell’s press conference as reporters likely pepper the outgoing Fed Chair with questions about central bankers’ thoughts on inflation in light of rising oil prices.