Apple joins tech firms in borrowing cheap money

Borrowing costs are so cheap right now that not even Apple Inc. can resist, becoming the latest to join a boom in issuance from the world’s biggest technology companies.

Apple, which hasn’t borrowed in dollars more than once in a calendar year since 2017, is tapping the investment-grade market for the second time since May. It was cheap to issue debt then and is even better now, with cash-rich companies like Amazon.com Inc. and Google parent Alphabet Inc. getting in on the action, outdoing each other to set a new floor for yields.

The iPhone maker is selling bonds in four parts, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. The longest maturity, a 40-year security, may yield around 135 basis points above Treasuries, the person said, asking not to be identified as the details are private.

That debt will almost certainly come cheaper for Apple than it did for Amazon, which priced at 130 basis points over Treasuries, and could possibly rival Google’s spread of 108 basis points. Outside of tech, Visa Inc. and Chevron Corp. set record low rates on new issues earlier this week, but for bonds that mature sooner.