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Global Investment-Grade Credit: Key Themes for 2026

In 2025, credit spreads in global investment grade corporate bonds remained notably resilient. (1) In this paper, we outline the reasons behind this resilience and highlight where security selection may offer opportunities.

Credit spreads: Resilient through periods of stress

Credit spreads were broadly robust in 2025. There were several episodes of elevated market volatility that triggered temporary spread widening, but these moves proved short lived. Overall, spreads hovered around the tight end of the post Global Financial Crisis range across both US IG and EUR IG.2

Why did spreads remain so stable?

Several factors supported this outcome:

Mehrere Faktoren stützten diese Entwicklung:

  • Ein verbessertes globales Konjunkturumfeld3
  • Solide Unternehmensfundamentaldaten4
  • Positive technische Faktoren, insbesondere die anhaltende Nachfrage von Anlegern und ein begrenztes Netto-Neuemissionsangebot5

Die Kombination dieser Faktoren hat Spreads und Performance spürbar „verankert“.

  • Global macroeconomic environment

    An improving global economic backdrop3

  • Corporate fundamentals

    Solid corporate fundamentals4

  • Technical factors

    Positive technicals, in particular persistent investor demand and limited net new issue supply5

Chart showing flows into investment-grade corporate bonds
Source

Source: BlackRock, EPFR. As of 31 December 2025

Fundamentals: a strong picture across global ig

Fundamentals remain supportive:

Corporate profitability

Corporate profitability remains robust.6

Strong balance sheets

Despite the significant rise in interest rates after the pandemic, balance sheets remain in good shape.7
Maintenance tools pictogram

Positive rating trends

Interest coverage averages around 9x, and ratings trends remain positive.8

The current market landscape?

This report highlights three themes shaping today’s environment:

  1. Stable corporate fundamentals and strong investor demand reinforce stability in the asset class, alongside still attractive yields.
  2. Diverging sector dynamics are driving higher dispersion across global IG credit markets and call for a selective approach.
  3. With spreads extremely tight and dispersion elevated, careful security selection matters. Tailored systems and optimisers support robust, efficient portfolio positioning in this carry-focused environment.
Source

1, 2 Bloomberg, 15 January 2025, available online at: https://www.bloomberg.com/professional/insights/markets/looking-back-at-2025-fixed-income/ (accessed 21 January 2026).
3 BlackRock, Global Investment Grade Corporate Bonds. Key Themes for 2026, 21 January 2026, p. 2.
4, 5 Bloomberg, 15 January 2025, available online at: https://www.bloomberg.com/professional/insights/markets/looking-back-at-2025-fixed-income/ (accessed 21 January 2026).
6 BlackRock, Global Investment Grade Corporate Bonds. Key Themes for 2026, 21 January 2026, figure on p. 3. Source: BlackRock and Bloomberg, 30 September 2025.
7, 8 BlackRock, Global Investment Grade Corporate Bonds. Key Themes for 2026, 21 January 2026, p. 2.

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