Alphabet 100-year bond: would you back Google for 100 years?

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Google owner Alphabet is rumoured to be planning to issue a 100-year bond.

The rare bond issuance would help the Magnificent 7-listed stock fund its artificial intelligence (AI) drive.

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It comes as Alphabet’s share price fell last week, even despite reporting revenue and earnings growth in the fourth quarter of 2025, which was blamed on the company raising its capex estimates for the year to $175 billion - $185 billion, up from $91.4 billion in the previous financial year.

What is a 100-year bond?

A 100-year bond lets a company or government spread out their borrowing and interest payments over a longer periods.

For investors, they benefit from a consistent stream of income while pension funds and insurance companies can use them for liability matching to offset other expenses.

There are of course interest rate risks and the possibility that a company goes bust, which is one of the reasons that such issuances are rare.

An Alphabet 100-year bond would be the first such product since the dot com era in the 1990s, according to Bloomberg.

IBM and Motorola each sold 100-year bonds in the 1990s.

Other 100-year bond issuers include the University of Oxford, Elf and the Wellcome Trust.

Should you back Google for the next 100 years?

Beyond interest rate risk, the big question with long-term bonds is how long the company will be around for.

Google dominates the technology space but there are fears over valuations of AI stocks in the sector and companies can quickly go out of fashion in less than a century.

Liz Malik, director at R3 Wealth, said: “Alphabet is putting themselves as governments and institutions that have survived the ages. Would a tech firm fall into the same category? If anyone can get people to think they are good for 100 years Alphabet can.”

Details of the bond haven’t been revealed yet but Lale Akoner, global market analyst at eToro, suggests a tech company being able to issue a 100-year bond says a lot about how investors are starting to think about the big hyperscalers.

Akoner said: “They’re increasingly being treated less like cyclical tech names and more like long-term infrastructure."

Century bonds are usually the preserve of governments or regulated utilities with very predictable cash flows but Akoner said this potential deal shows that, at least for now, investors are willing to take on very long-dated risk tied to AI investment.

She said: "It also highlights a shift away from tech funding growth purely from large cash piles, towards using debt as AI spending accelerates.”

The potential deal underlines the continued demand from pension funds and insurers for ultra-long sterling assets, Akoner said, adding: “That demand can help keep the long end of the gilt curve anchored, even with heavy supply in the market, although macro conditions and political developments are likely to matter more overall. For credit markets, it’s another reminder that high-quality issuers can still sell very long-dated debt, though a steady increase in issuance from Big Tech could gradually put pressure on spreads.

“The UK was a logical place to issue. The sterling market is one of the few where bonds with 50- to 100-year maturities reliably find buyers, thanks to structural demand from pension funds and insurers. Issuing in sterling also helps Alphabet diversify its funding base and pass some of the very long-term uncertainty around technology and AI returns on to investors willing to take that duration risk.”

Marc Shoffman is an award-winning freelance journalist specialising in business, personal finance and property. His work has appeared in print and online publications ranging from FT Business to The Times, Mail on Sunday and the i newspaper. He also co-presents the In For A Penny financial planning podcast.