Alphabet Inc’s global bond sale this week underscored the high level of investor demand for the major AI hyperscalers, but raised concerns about the debt’s lack of protections for existing and future bondholders.

Google parent Alphabet raised $31.51 billion across U.S. dollar, sterling and Swiss franc bond markets in a global bond raise on Monday and Tuesday, as artificial intelligence-driven spending sparks a surge in ‌borrowing at U.S. ⁠tech ⁠giants.

Alphabet’s bond sale stood out in several ways, including its use of a so-called 100-year “century” bond in the sterling market.

These and other hyperscalers’ recent bond sales have garnered strong reception with Alphabet’s $20 billion U.S. bond sale drawing over $100 billion in demand. But the growing hyperscaler debt pile has raised concerns about their lack of investor protections compared to other bonds.

“What stands out is what’s missing,” said Julia Khandoshko, the CEO of Cyprus-based broker Mind Money. “Once a big name gets covenant-light terms through, others will try the same.”

“Naturally, that creates a second-market ⁠problem, where ‌the next buyer has fewer ‘rules’ to rely on, while prices will swing more on rates, mood, and liquidity,” she added.
Investment-grade borrowers with strong credit profiles typically include fewer covenants in debt ⁠agreements than their junk-rated counterparts. Yet most include basic investor guardrails, especially a standard change-in-control covenant protecting investors in the event of M&A or another change in ownership. Alphabet’s bonds do not carry these protections, noted Anthony Canales, head of global research at New York-based Covenant Review.

The five major AI hyperscalers – Amazon, Alphabet, Meta, Microsoft, and Oracle – issued $121 billion in U.S. corporate bonds last year, according to a January report by BofA Securities. Alphabet and Amazon did not respond to requests for comment, while Oracle, Meta and Microsoft declined to comment.

Oracle’s $25 billion note offering on February 2, and Meta’s $30 ‌billion bond offering in October, similarly lacked change-in-control and other basic covenants, Canales noted.

“In most IG covenant packages you would expect to see a change-in-control covenant,” Canales said. “But these are huge companies where the investors don’t believe there’s ⁠great risk they’ll need these protections.” Future tech issuers, especially smaller and lower-rated companies, could run into obstacles if they attempt to model their covenants after Alphabet, he added.

New debt issuance in 2026 from the five major hyperscalers could reach more than $300 billion as their spending needs around AI buildout increase, BofA Securities analyst Tom Curcurro wrote in a January 12 report. “This massive AI infrastructure buildout requires so much capex from the hyperscalers that they want to reduce the technical impact on their bonds,” said Jordan Chalfin, senior analyst at the New York-based research firm CreditSights, noting the benefits to issuers from flexible covenant structures.

The S&P 500 closed barely higher on Friday, supported by cooling inflation data, but the Nasdaq ended lower as heavyweight technology and communications services shares lost ground on nagging fears of disruption by artificial intelligence.

The S&P 500, the Nasdaq and the Dow all declined for the week with technology stocks on a roller-coaster ride due to uncertainty about the extent to which profits could be disrupted due to AI ‌competition and the hefty ⁠spending needed ⁠to support the technology.

Equities had started the session strong after data showed U.S. consumer prices increased less than expected in January. This prompted traders to slightly raise the chance of a 25 basis point interest-rate cut in June to 52.3% from 48.9%, according to the CME Group’s FedWatch tool.

But heavyweight technology and communications services ended the session lower as investors were jittery ahead of Monday’s U.S. holiday for Presidents Day.

“Large cap tech stocks continue to be an anchor on the market and any whiff of optimism continues to get rejected,” said Michael James, managing director, at Rosenblatt Securities, Los Angeles.

“We’ve been on wobbly legs a couple of weeks now and with the three-day weekend approaching, it’s not surprising to roll over into the end of the day.”
The ⁠Dow Jones ‌Industrial Average rose 48.95 points, or 0.10%, to 49,500.93, the S&P 500 gained 3.41 points, or 0.05%, to 6,836.17 and the Nasdaq Composite lost 50.48 points, or 0.22%, to 22,546.67. For the week, the S&P 500 fell 1.39%, the Nasdaq declined 2.1%, and the ⁠Dow fell 1.23% for their biggest weekly losses since November. Equity markets have pulled back from record levels recently as AI fears fueled worries in sectors spanning from software and insurance to trucking companies. However, the S&P 500 software and services index closed up 0.9% on Friday while the S&P 500 tech sector fell 0.5%.

Despite improving inflation trends, Phil Orlando, chief market strategist at Federated Hermes, predicted more choppy trading ahead as investors deal with the looming U.S. midterm elections in November and the expected replacement of Fed Chair Jerome Powell by Kevin Warsh in May.

Historically when a Fed leadership transition happens in a midterm year, the market has hit a “double-digit air-pocket every time that’s occurred,” Orlando said.

Megacap tech stocks were weak with Nvidia and Apple Inc providing the biggest drags to the S&P 500 while Applied ‌Materials provided the strongest boost.

Defensive utilities ended up 2.69% and real estate added 1.48%, making them the top gainers among S&P 500’s 11 major industry indexes. Healthcare was also a boost with Dexcom rising 7.6% and Moderna rising 5.3% after both companies’ fourth-quarter earnings reports impressed.

Applied Materials shares jumped 8.1% after the chipmaking-equipment firm ⁠forecast second-quarter revenue and profit above Wall Street expectations. Networking equipment provider Arista Networks gained 4.8% during the session after forecasting annual revenue above expectations.

White House trade adviser Peter Navarro said there was no basis to reports that the administration was planning to reduce steel and aluminum tariffs.

Still, some steelmakers came under pressure with Nucor falling just under 3% and Steel Dynamics slipping 3.9%. Also aluminum producer Alcoa fell 0.9% while Century Aluminum shares tumbled 7.4%.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 2.57-to-1 ratio on the NYSE where there were 392 new highs and 93 new lows. On the Nasdaq, 3,156 stocks rose and 1,646 fell as advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.92-to-1 ratio.

The S&P 500 posted 34 new 52-week highs and 6 new lows.

On U.S. exchanges 18.61 billion shares changed hands compared with the 20.75 billion moving average for the last 20 sessions.

Mumbai: Tuhin Kanta Pandey, chairperson of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), Friday flagged risks posed by artificial intelligence (AI) in regulating the securities market.

“AI offers powerful tools for surveillance and fraud detection… But it also brings risks – opacity, bias, and concentration of technological power,” Pandey said. “Regulation must therefore evolve from supervising institutions to supervising systems and technology.”

The top boss at the regulatory body added that technology is reshaping markets faster than any rulebook. Algorithmic trading, digital platforms, and AI-driven decision-making are now part of everyday market functioning.

“We must address concentration and interconnectedness risks. Strengthen data governance and consent architectures. And manage the boundary between regulated finance and unregulated digital spaces,” he said, speaking at the summit.

Sebi is, therefore, responding through supervisory technology (SupTech), and RegTech (regulatory technology), stronger cybersecurity frameworks, and improved data governance, Pandey said.

Adding that the regulator sets direction and guardrails after due consultations but the industry has to innovate responsibly.
SEBI has also set up a high- level expert working group to develop a short-term and a long-term strategic technology roadmap for the securities market ecosystem. Talking about India’s next regulatory frontier, he said that regulation can no longer be only reactive but must become anticipatory. “It must move with markets, not behind them.”

“We need markets that are resilient by design, capable of navigating geo-fragmentation, technological shifts, and other emerging risks, while continuing to support growth and innovation,” he said.

India’s market capitalisation has grown more than four-fold in the last ten years, to over ₹4.7 lakh crore today. As a share of GDP, it has risen from around 81% in FY15 to 138% today.In FY25, equity and debt issues together amounted to about ₹14.3 lakh crore, while in FY26 from April to January, ₹11.6 lakh crore has been mobilised. In 2025, India led in IPO activity globally with a record number of IPOs and stood third in terms of IPO proceeds, he said.

The Sebi chief added that the ownership structure of listed companies is also changing. Individuals and mutual funds together now own around 21% of listed equity, compared to 13% in FY15. “This means the Indian household is no longer a peripheral participant. It is now central to the equity story of India,” he said.

He further said that regulation has evolved over the years, it has moved from a framework that focused largely on entities to one that focuses on their activities and risks.

“We are moving from silo oversight to a more coordinated regulatory architecture. We are also moving from static rules to dynamic supervision,” Pandey said.

“As markets scale, the quality of regulation becomes as important as the quantity of capital they attract.”

Instacart CART 0.94%increase; green up pointing triangle reported lower fourth-quarter profit dragged down by a $60 million settlement with the Federal Trade Commission in connection with claims that it used deceptive practices to raise costs for shoppers.

The food-delivery platform, also known as Maplebear, on Thursday posted net income of $81 million, or 30 cents a share, down from $148 million, or 53 cents a share, from the same period a year earlier.

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New Delhi: Broad market annual returns are likely to moderate to 10-12%, said veteran investor Madhusudan Kela, tempering expectations for headline indices even as he remains constructive on India’s long-term prospects.

With nominal growth moderating and sectoral dominance by mature industries, he sees benchmark gains settling into a more measured trajectory. The real alpha, he believes, will emerge from identifying “hidden gems” companies and themes, particularly around AI applications, that can enhance productivity and margins over time.

Volatility may dominate headlines, but it is conviction, not chaos, that builds wealth in Indian equities, he said at the summit.

Speaking on the topic, “Is Volatility A Buying Opportunity?”, Kela said his core message is: “ignore the noise, back entrepreneurs with resilience, and let compounding do the heavy lifting”.

The past few weeks have seen a whirlwind of events: the Budget, the India-US trade deal, sharp swings in gold and silver, and heightened equity volatility led by the sell-off in AI.

Kela views such phrases as an opportunity rather than a threat.
“This noise is what creates opportunity. This noise is not a distraction,” he said, adding that differentiated returns are earned by standing apart from the crowd. “You rarely make money if you are with the crowd.” In Kela’s assessment, Indian capital markets are structurally stronger than ever, backed by domestic capital and entrepreneurial depth. The challenge for investors is not predicting the next news event but maintaining discipline. As he puts it, “volatility is not the enemy, it is the entry point.”

His investing framework revolves around identifying the “jockey”, the promoter or leader at the helm. “Am I able to really identify someone who will be able to drive it and who will not get distracted?”

Kela praised India’s retail investors, particularly mutual fund participants, who have steadily invested through systematic plans even when foreign institutional investors were net sellers. “They have been the real hero of this last bull run,” he said. “Equity has evolved from a speculation-driven arena to a mainstream asset class, embraced for long-term wealth creation. At least 13 crore people in India believe that it is a real asset class and we want to invest for real long term,” he said.

To underline the power of compounding, Kela cited an example. “If you save ₹11,000 per month in a respectable mutual fund, you can gain 100 crore after 50 years,” he said, assuming long-term returns are similar to historical averages. The takeaway is faith-both in disciplined investing and in India’s structural growth story. Unless a severe “black swan” event derails sentiment, he expects domestic flows to expand significantly over the next decade, irrespective of foreign buying or selling.

While acknowledging fears of job disruption in IT services, he drew parallels with earlier technological shifts. “Technology has never made life difficult for people in the last 50 years,” he said.

He believes India’s expanding Global Capability Centres could offset potential job losses in traditional IT outsourcing. He advised caution on IT stocks until earnings visibility improves.

Operator

Good afternoon. Thank you for attending today’s Procore Technologies, Inc. FY ‘ 25 Q4 Earnings Call. My name is Tamia, and I will be your moderator for today’s call. [Operator Instructions]. I would now like to pass the conference over to your host, Alexandra Geller, Head of IR.

Alexandra Geller
Head of Investor Relations

Good afternoon, and welcome to Procore’s 2025 Fourth Quarter Earnings Call. I’m Alexandra Geller, Head of Investor Relations. With me today are Ajei Gopal, President and CEO; and Howard Fu, CFO. Further disclosure of our results can be found in our press release issued today, which is available on the Investor Relations section of our website and our periodic reports filed with the SEC. Today’s call is being recorded, and a replay will be available following the conclusion of the call.

Comments made on this call include forward-looking statements regarding, among other things, our financial outlook, platform and products, customer demand, operations and macroeconomic and geopolitical conditions. You should not rely on forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. All forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions and are based on management’s current expectations and views as of today, February 12, 2026. Procore undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect new information or unanticipated