Corporations expected to take on record debt in 2026

Marketplace

American Public Media

News, Business

4.6 • 8K Ratings

🗓️ 6 January 2026

⏱️ 28 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

This year, amid ongoing economic uncertainty, corporations are expected to refinance old debt, invest in artificial intelligence, and prep for mergers and acquisitions. All of which require extra cash. And how do corporations stretch their budgets? By taking on more debt, of course. Later in this episode: An Altadena small business owner struggles to rebuild after the LA fires, Texas pitmasters weigh rising brisket prices, and Costco converts wine snobs.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	At Pluralsight, we don't just teach skills.
0:02.8	We are building the tech workforce who deliver results fast, accelerated by top-tier content.
0:08.6	Lead with confidence, lead with expertise.
0:11.1	Visit us at plural site.com to tap in and learn more.
0:16.4	On the program, today we'll do the corporate debt market.
0:19.9	We'll do some beef and some wine,
0:23.0	and we'll go back to Al-Dadena. From American Public Media, this is Marketplace.
0:37.2	In Los Angeles, I'm Kai Rizzdahl. It is Tuesday. Today, this one's the 6th of January. It is always to have you along, everybody.
0:45.3	We're going to note here right at the top, the latest market and macroeconomic reaction to the events of this past weekend.
0:52.3	Not crickets exactly, but certainly muted. Equities continue to be exuberant,
0:59.9	more new records on Wall Street. Gold's at a record high, too, so there is some desire for a safe haven.
1:06.3	U.S. Treasuries, the bond market, basically same same from yesterday, which is to say say, unchanged since the Venezuelan news broke in the wee small hours of Saturday morning.
1:16.6	Bonds, as it happens, are where we actually begin today, not treasuries, but debt of the corporate variety, because January is typically a busy month for companies trying to sell bonds.
1:27.4	And this January is shaping up to why for companies trying to sell bonds.
1:31.9	And this January is shaping up to might be one of the busiest yet.
1:37.3	Corporate debt issuance is expected to hit a record this year, despite the uncertainty in this economy.
1:43.2	And interest rates, while, yes, they've still been falling, are higher than they were just a couple of years ago.
1:48.0	Marketplace is Justin Ho then has more on why companies are scrambling to pile on debt and what they plan to do with it.
1:50.5	The last time that corporations piled on a lot of debt was in the wake of the pandemic.
1:54.9	Marine O'Connor with Wells Fargo says that's because borrowing money was cheap back then.
1:59.3	When you think about it from just the cost of debt capital perspective, 2020 and 2021,
2:03.9	were very low interest rate years.
	...

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