Vodafone Idea Ltd. is considering raising debt financing to accelerate growth, people familiar with the matter said, following the government’s decision to cap annual payouts for past spectrum fees.India’s third-largest mobile phone operator by users may seek the financing from local and global lenders, the people said, asking not to be identified because the deliberations are private. Vodafone Idea plans to use part of the proceeds to improve its network and better compete against larger rivals Bharti Airt ...

The bidding war for Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) and its extensive library of hit TV shows and films like “Harry Potter,” “Game of Thrones,” and the DC Comics titles is dragging on. The studio on Wednesday said its board had unanimously rejected Paramount Skydance’s revised $108.4 billion bid, calling the proposal a “leveraged buyout” that would encumber the company with $87 billion in debt. In a letter to shareholders, WBD urged them to reject the offer, saying the “extraordinary amount” of debt Param ...

Paramount Skydance’s David Ellison had to make one thing clear to Warner Bros. Discovery: Don’t worry, my dad’s got this. In an amended bid for WBD on Monday, Paramount pinky-promised the financial backing of Larry Ellison, the Oracle founder, world’s fifth-richest man, and longtime backer of son David’s media and entertainment ambitions. Is it enough to shift the odds? SUBSCRIBE:  Receive more of our free The Daily Upside newsletter. READ ALSO: ‘Vortex of Volatility’ Kept 2025 Dealmaking From Breaking R ...

Oracle’s rapid descent from market darling to market warning sign is revealing something deeper about the AI boom, experts say: no matter how euphoric investors became over the last two years, the industry can’t outrun the laws of physics—or the realities of debt financing. Shares of Oracle have plunged 45% from their September high and lost 14% this week after a messy earnings report revealed it spent $12 billion in quarterly capital expenditures, higher than the $8.25 billion expected by analysts. Ear ...

Netflix, a company that built its business on junk bonds, is looking to borrow heavily again. The streaming company once known as “Debtflix,” before it started generating heavy cash flow, is looking to add tens of billions of dollars of debt to finance its planned $72 billion acquisition of most of Warner Bros. Discovery Inc. But Netflix Inc. has a stronger balance sheet than it did before the pandemic, which will probably allow the company to boost the price it pays in any bidding war that emerges, while r ...

Tatsuya Ozaki/iStock via Getty Images Ours is a remarkable moment in world history. A transformative technology is ascending, and its supporters claim it will forever change the world. To build it requires companies to invest a sum of money unlike anything in living memory. News reports are filled with widespread fears that America’s biggest corporations are propping up a bubble that will soon pop. During my visits to clients in Asia and the Middle East last month, I was often asked about the possibilit ...

Core Viewpoint - Pennon Group PLC has shown a financial turnaround in the first half of the 2025/26 financial year, despite mixed earnings results and a reduction in interim dividends [2][3][4]. Financial Performance - Earnings per share for Pennon were reported at $0.3677, slightly exceeding estimates of $0.3671 [2][6]. - Revenue was approximately $870.5 million, falling short of the expected $881.1 million [2][6]. - Statutory pre-tax earnings improved to £65.9 million from a loss of £38.8 million in the previous year, indicating a strong financial recovery [3][6]. - Underlying EBITDA surged by 56% to £254.4 million, driven by increased water revenues and better cost management [3]. Dividend and Capital Expenditure - The company announced a nearly 25% reduction in its interim dividend to 9.26p per share, attributed to timing mechanics following a rights issue conducted last year [4]. - Capital expenditure remained high at £304.8 million as the company continued its ambitious K8 investment programme [4]. Financial Ratios - The debt-to-equity ratio stands at 3.14, indicating a significant reliance on debt financing [5]. - The current ratio is 1.51, suggesting a reasonable level of liquidity to cover short-term liabilities [5].

Group 1 - HSBC Holdings plc is reorganizing its trading business to enhance its position as a global leader in debt financing, unifying major trading desks into a single global macro division [1][8] - The new unit will be led by Volkan Benihasim, aiming to streamline decision-making and align trading capabilities with client needs [2] - HSBC is consolidating its derivatives clearing services into the global equities business and a wide range of debt-related activities under a new global credit and financing umbrella [2][5] Group 2 - The restructuring is part of HSBC's strategy to enhance profitability by focusing on areas where it can leverage its scale and balance-sheet strength [4][5] - The bank has reduced its advisory and equity-underwriting operations in the US, UK, and continental Europe, shifting focus to debt markets [5] - Mehmet Mazi, the long-time head of global debt markets, will explore other opportunities, marking a significant leadership change [6] Group 3 - HSBC's shares have increased by 47.1% over the past year, outperforming the industry's growth of 40.6% [7] - The bank currently holds a Zacks Rank 2 (Buy), indicating positive market sentiment [9]

Core Insights - Big tech firms are increasingly turning to public debt markets to finance AI-related investments, marking a shift from their traditional reliance on cash [1][14] - The surge in public bond issuance has raised concerns about the market's capacity to absorb this new supply, contributing to a pullback in U.S. stock prices [2][14] - Analysts indicate that while debt levels are rising, major tech companies remain lightly leveraged compared to their earnings [1][11] Debt Issuance Trends - Hyperscaler debt issuance has exceeded $120 billion in 2023, a significant increase from an average of $28 billion over the past five years [3][14] - Major companies involved include Alphabet ($25 billion), Meta ($30 billion), Oracle ($18 billion), and Amazon ($15 billion) [14] - The recent financing activities are seen as necessary to support the capital expenditures required for AI infrastructure [3][14] Market Reactions - Demand for tech bond deals has been strong, but investors are requiring higher premiums to absorb the new securities [8][15] - U.S. investment-grade credit spreads have increased slightly, reflecting concerns over the influx of new bond supply [9][15] - Despite the rise in debt, the overall leverage of these companies is expected to remain below 1x, indicating a manageable debt level relative to earnings [11][15] Future Projections - AI capital expenditure is projected to reach $600 billion by 2027, with net debt issuance expected to hit $100 billion in 2026 [6][14] - Analysts suggest that supply constraints or investor appetite may limit near-term capital expenditures more than cash flow or balance sheet capacity [12][15] - The top hyperscalers are anticipated to maintain a strong cash flow position, allowing them to absorb additional debt safely [12][15]

Group 1 - The AI investment grade borrowing has surged, with $75 billion of U.S. investment grade debt issued by AI-focused Big Tech in September and October, more than double the average annual issuance of $32 billion from 2015 to 2024 [3][4] - Major contributions to this total include $30 billion from Meta and $18 billion from Oracle, with additional borrowing from Alphabet, indicating a significant trend in AI-related debt issuance [4] - AI-linked companies now account for 14% of JP Morgan's investment grade index, surpassing U.S. banks as the dominant sector, highlighting the growing importance of AI in the credit market [5] Group 2 - Oracle's shares have increased by 54% in 2025, marking its strongest annual rally since 1999, driven by AI-related revenue growth, yet concerns about rising credit default swaps indicate investor anxiety over its debt levels [6] - The emergence of AI-related "junk" bonds is notable, with TeraWulf issuing a $3.2 billion high-yield bond rated BB- and CoreWeave issuing $2 billion in high-yield bonds, reflecting the increasing risk appetite in the market [7]