Alphabet Inc. shares dipped 1.75% in premarket trading on Friday after the Google parent company sold ¥576.5 billion ($3.6 billion) in yen-denominated bonds, marking the largest-ever yen bond issuance by a foreign company. The seven-tranche deal, with maturities ranging from 3 to 40 years and coupons between 1.965% and 4.599%, was arranged by Mizuho Securities, Bank of America, and Morgan Stanley. Strong demand from Japanese and international investors underscored the continued hunger for yield in Japan, where foreign corporate issuance has surged over 280% this year to ¥1.6 trillion.
The record bond sale is part of a broader borrowing spree: Alphabet has raised nearly $60 billion across multiple currencies in the past four months. The company recently lifted its annual capital expenditure forecast to $180–$190 billion and warned that spending could climb further in 2027 as it races to build AI infrastructure. Amazon has also tapped global debt markets, while the five largest tech giants are projected to spend around $800 billion on AI this year alone.
Meanwhile, AI rivals Anthropic and OpenAI are locked in a fierce battle for enterprise dominance. According to a May 2026 Ramp AI Index, 34.4% of businesses now pay for Anthropic’s Claude, narrowly edging out ChatGPT’s 32.3% share. Anthropic’s annualized revenue has soared above $30 billion, and the company has committed $50 billion to US computing infrastructure. OpenAI, which expects to lose $14 billion in 2026, plans to invest $600 billion in chips through 2030 but does not foresee breaking even until 2030. The escalating cash burn across the AI sector is heightening investor focus on long-term profitability.
