The Hot Equity Trade Spreading Through the AI Boom

It’s shaping up to be a big year for equity capital markets bankers, between SpaceX’s record-breaking debut and already public companies issuing stock at a rapid clip. One often overlooked part of the market is also active, fueled in part by the capital demands of the AI boom.

At-the-market offerings, a type of share sale by public companies that’s popular when prices are rising, are having a busy year—and more are lining up. Cloud provider IREN has authorized billions in fresh share sales to fund AI infrastructure, while Google parent Alphabet turned heads last month when it announced an ATM program of up to $40 billion. Companies pursuing this strategy are betting rallies in their shares will last long enough for them to cash in.