Crwv and Nebius were both down about 15% over the past five days as Goldman Sachs said the selling in AI-linked stocks was being reinforced by a sharp jump in financing costs. The bank said US dollar high-yield AI-related debt spreads widened by 25 basis points between Oct. 13 and Oct. 14, reaching a new high of 360 basis points over Treasurys.
That move matters because it shows the pressure was not just coming from one company. AI-related debt spreads were widening while non-AI-related spreads were only two basis points wider and still below their March peak, a split that points to a market now pricing the AI buildout more aggressively than the broader credit market.
Amanda Lynam said AI-related corporate bonds from neoclouds or firms with significant frontier lab exposure were “at the epicenter of the funding cost debate,” with the tightening of credit terms concentrated in AI-related corporate bonds and data center project finance. In plain terms, investors were demanding more compensation to lend to the most exposed parts of the AI infrastructure trade, especially where repayment depends on heavy spending, fast growth and customers that may not yet have fully proven their credit strength.
That is why the slide in Crwv has not stayed confined to company-specific worries. Concerns about CoreWeave’s financial health were part of the market narrative, but Goldman Sachs said the bigger shift was a reassessment of the economics of the AI buildout itself, particularly for lower-rated borrowers facing higher-for-longer rates and possible energy-cost pressure. Lynam said farther removed AI-adjacent Energy and Utilities had held up better, helped by more diversified revenue streams and a more defensive earnings profile.
The next question is whether the recent pressure has gone far enough to trigger a bounce or whether the credit repricing keeps spreading through the sector. Lynam said there could be some near-term reversal in US high-yield debt tied to AI, but she also said dispersion across AI-related issuers is likely to remain high, leaving lenders and investors to sort winners from borrowers that still need the market to stay open.
