As U.S. artificial intelligence (AI) corporations Anthropic and OpenAI approach large initial public offerings (IPOs), some expect they could absorb stock market liquidity. In particular, with a surge in bond issuance by hyperscalers, analysts say these IPOs could compete not only with existing equities but also with AI bonds.
Choi Bo-young, a researcher at Kyobo Securities, said, "The moment large unlisted corporations enter the public market, a new supply emerges that directly competes for the same investor funds as listed shares," adding, "Just as SpaceX absorbed about $75 billion through its IPO in Jun., if Anthropic and OpenAI proceed with listings, funds in the stock market could become dispersed."
With hyperscalers' corporate bond issuance surging, she noted that equities may be required to offer higher expected returns. According to Kyobo Securities, major hyperscalers' bond issuance is projected to expand from about $250 billion in 2026 to $400 billion in 2027.
Choi said, "Some AI data center bonds and infrastructure loans recently have offered annual yields of around 7%–9%," adding, "As they are exposed to AI growth while contractually securing cash revenue and priority over equities in repayment, AI stocks need to deliver a sufficiently higher expected return than that."
By contrast, Korean semiconductor corporations such as Samsung Electronics and SK hynix are returning cash to shareholders based on strong cash generation, she said. "While U.S. AI corporations are supplying new equity and liability to the market to ramp up investment, Samsung Electronics and SK hynix are reducing shares in circulation through share cancellations and dividends," she said. "This is the exact opposite capital policy of global AI corporations."
She added, "On the premise that AI industry fundamentals hold, this could be a phase where corporations that generate cash and return it to shareholders have relatively stronger supply-demand appeal than those that absorb capital."
Earlier, SK hynix said last week it would buy back and cancel about 40 trillion won of its own shares and return at least 50% of cumulative free cash flow (FCF) for 2025–2027 to shareholders. Samsung Electronics also said it set 90 trillion–100 trillion won as its 2026 shareholder return capacity and will pay about 30 trillion won in cash dividends in the third quarter, including regular dividends.