# Microsoft Returns to the Bond Market for the First Time Since 2017, Seeking at Least $25 Billion

Times of AI Desk · 2026-10-29 · Industry

[https://timesof.ai/2026/10/microsoft-25b-bond-sale-first-since-2017-ai-capex](https://timesof.ai/2026/10/microsoft-25b-bond-sale-first-since-2017-ai-capex)

> Microsoft filed a preliminary prospectus on Oct. 29 for ten series of notes, two floating-rate and eight fixed-rate, with amounts left blank. Investing.com, citing Bloomberg and offering terms, reports Microsoft is seeking at least $25 billion in its first U.S. high-grade bond sale since a $17 billion deal in 2017. The filing says proceeds are for general corporate purposes; it does not tie them to AI. Size and pricing are not final.

One of only two AAA-rated U.S. companies is borrowing in size for the first time in nine years, and the timing points to the AI build-out even though the paperwork does not. Microsoft filed a preliminary prospectus supplement with the SEC on **October 29** for its first U.S. high-grade bond sale since 2017, a day after reporting quarterly results that showed [capital spending doubling from a year earlier](https://timesof.ai/2026/10/microsoft-fy27-q1-openai-10b-revenue-azure-33b).

## What the filing says

The filing, marked "subject to completion", covers ten series of notes: two floating-rate and eight fixed-rate. The amounts, interest rates and maturities are left blank. Microsoft says it will use the proceeds for "general corporate purposes, which may include… working capital, capital expenditures, repurchases of our capital stock, acquisitions and repayment of our existing debt." J.P. Morgan, UBS Investment Bank and Wells Fargo Securities are the joint book-running managers.

## What has been reported about size

Investing.com, citing Bloomberg and the offering terms, reports that Microsoft is seeking at least **$25 billion** across ten tranches with maturities from two to 40 years. Its last sale of this kind, in 2017, raised **$17 billion**, according to the report. Microsoft is rated AAA by both Moody's and S&P, a rating only Johnson & Johnson also holds among U.S. companies, the report says.

Initial price talk, expressed as a spread in basis points, ranged from 50 to 55 for the two-year notes to 130 to 135 for the 40-year bonds due 2066, and the sale is expected to settle on November 4, according to Investing.com.

## The capex read

The prospectus does not say the money is for AI data centres; capital expenditure is one of several listed uses. Read alongside the doubling in quarterly spending, the sale suggests that even a AAA-rated balance sheet is choosing to fund part of the build-out with debt running as long as 40 years rather than with cash flow alone.

## Limits

- The size, tranche amounts and pricing were not final when this was published; the $25 billion figure is from reporting, not the filing.
- The Bloomberg report could not be read directly by Times of AI; its figures are taken from Investing.com's account, which cites Bloomberg and the offering terms.
- The link to AI spending is an inference from Microsoft's capital spending, not a stated use of proceeds.

## Sources

- [SEC: Microsoft Corporation preliminary prospectus supplement, Form 424B2 (October 29, 2026)](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/789019/000119312526437008/d150456d424b2.htm)
- [Investing.com: Microsoft seeks at least $25 billion in first bond sale since 2017 (October 29, 2026)](https://www.investing.com/news/stock-market-news/microsoft-seeks-at-least-25-billion-in-first-bond-sale-since-2017-4983281)