CoreWeave stock and bonds slump as AI-boom credit fears spread

On October 18, 2026, Wallstreetcn reported that CoreWeave shares had fallen 25% over the week, the company's worst weekly performance since November 2025. Its junk-rated bonds were yielding 15%, and credit default swap pricing implied a better-than-60% probability of default within five years. The report noted that bonds CoreWeave issued in June 2025 at a 9.675% yield had seen their yield jump to 15% during the week.

The selloff spread beyond the company. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index fell 11% for the week and was down about 24% from its June 2025 high, while the Nasdaq 100 dropped 5.5%, its worst week since April 2025. The average high-yield bond yield rose to 8.41% on Wednesday, a roughly 18-month high, with the risk premium widening to its broadest level since March. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang publicly expressed confidence in CoreWeave on Thursday, and Deutsche Bank called the selloff a buying opportunity; CoreWeave shares rebounded 5.9% that day but fell another 12% on Friday, closing the week down 25%.

Later the same day, Techmeme cited a New York Times report saying that with CoreWeave's bond yield above 15%, the cost of insuring SoftBank's debt had risen and some Oracle debt was trading at 80 to 90 cents on the dollar. The report said debt troubles at CoreWeave, Oracle and SoftBank were raising questions about whether the data center build-out faces broader problems. As of these two reports, the situation stood at CoreWeave under pressure in both its stock and bonds, with concerns spreading to SoftBank and Oracle debt; no further resolution had been announced.