Hybrid Bonds Are Heating Up

The New York Stock Exchange, in New York City, on Wednesday, December 18, 2024.

When CVS Health Corp. sold $3 billion of bonds in early December, it relied on an unusual kind of debt that saw record issuance this year and could set a new high in 2025. The bonds are known as hybrids because they have characteristics of both debt and equity. U.S. dollar issuance of the bonds climbed to a record $35.6 billion this year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg that excludes sales from financial companies. That’s up from just $6.5 billion last year.

Strategists at Barclays, focusing on hybrids that mature on a particular date rather than perpetual securities, which are more common among European companies, anticipate that sales will climb by about 7 percent next year to a fresh record.