In short:
The cost of insuring against a debt default by Wall Street's tech titans has hit record levels.
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cost → insure → levels
Neocloud company CoreWeave is among the most expensive to insure against.
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CoreWeave → insure → expensive
Analysts view the firm as the "canary in the coalmine" for the artificial intelligence boom more broadly.
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Analysts → view → boom
The cost of insuring against a big technology firm defaulting on its debt has soared to record highs.
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cost → insure → highs
These contracts are known as credit default swaps.
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contracts → know → swaps
Heavily indebted data centre operator CoreWeave has been among the hardest hit.
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CoreWeave → hit → hit
Investors who lent the company money are now paying a lot to buy these credit default swaps to insure against losing their investments if the company defaults.
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company → lend → investments
The so-called neocloud company has taken on more than $US50 billion ($72 billion) in debt.
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company → call → debt
The yield on CoreWeave bonds maturing in 2031 has hit 15.78 per cent.
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yield → mature → cent
This week, the spread on its five-year credit default swaps soared 16 per cent to a record 1.14 per cent, before easing slightly to 1.03 per cent.
Floodlines Research founder Anna Wu said the record highs in tech credit default swaps were an extension of CoreWeave's spreads blowing past 1 per cent.
"[
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highs → soar → cent
has revived worries about how the AI build-out is being financed," Ms Wu said.
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Wu → revive → worries
Turning to private credit
Wall Street's big tech firms are increasingly turning to debt and private credit financing, having exhausted options to raise money in the share market.
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firms → turn → market
But elevated global inflation is putting upward pressure on interest rates, which is increasing the cost of this debt.
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which → put → debt
Competition for debt from governments and other big tech firms is also increasing interest rates, and the cost of servicing this debt.
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Competition → increase → debt
Investors are increasingly concerned that debt costs are rising too much for big tech firms to service, and they are buying insurance to prevent harmful financial losses.
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they → rise → losses
Ms Wu conceded financial markets were growing more anxious about these mammoth companies' financial health.
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markets → concede → health
"Nvidia's Jensen Huang defended CoreWeave in Stockholm yesterday, saying its cost of capital is falling and it needs no Nvidia backstop, but I think investor sentiment on tech is fragile after the chip sell-off, so this is more sentiment than fundamentals for now," she said.
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she → defend → fundamentals
Elsewhere in the market cloud computing giant Oracle has seen its credit default swaps rise 0.3 per cent this week, while costs to insure against debt defaults for Nvidia, STMicroelectronics and SpaceX also rose sharply.
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costs → see → Nvidia
Credit default swap spreads for Amazon, Alphabet and Meta also traded at record highs, data from LSEG and S&P Global Market Intelligence showed, though they have risen far more slowly than Oracle, or CoreWeave.
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they → trade → Oracle
"This is not the first time we've had a sizeable market wobble on the back of AI fears, but as we move to a capex cycle funded out of debt rather than simply free cash flow, we have to increasingly respect the credit price action," Deutsche Bank strategist Jim Reid said.
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Reid → have → action
"AI financing costs aren't dramatic overall, but there are worrying themes at the edges.
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costs → be → edges
"
Canary in the coalmine
Marcus Today senior markets analyst Henry Jennings described CoreWeave as the "canary in the coalmine" for excessive big-tech debt on Wall Street.
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Jennings → describe → Street
"[CoreWeave's credit default swaps show there is a] 60 per cent chance of default within five years," Mr Jennings said.
"
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Jennings → show → years
Jensen Huang was quick to defend CoreWeave but then again, he is an investor and supplier to the company.
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he → defend → company
"Investors are freaking out on the cost of debt for wannabes," he said.
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he → freak → wannabes
XTB research director Kathleen Brooks agreed.
"Its bonds have sold off sharply … this is a sign that investors might be going off the AI investment narrative, which has included massive debt issuance to fund AI ambitions."
uncertain
which → agree → ambitions
The Aporia
