Waymo closes a $5 billion term loan, its first debt financing, priced at 5.25 points over the benchmark, October 8, 2026

Waymo closed a $5 billion term loan on Thursday, October 8, 2026, the first time Alphabet's self-driving unit has borrowed money instead of selling shares. Goldman Sachs was sole lead bookrunner, PIMCO, Blackstone and Sixth Street were the lead syndicated lenders, and the loan was priced at 5.25 percentage points over the benchmark rate. Waymo says the money will pay for expanding its driverless ride service across the US and abroad, and Bloomberg named Japan and Singapore among the international targets.

Bloomberg reported on October 6 that the loan had been upsized to $5 billion from an initial plan of more than $3 billion, and that it is unrated, so no rating agency has graded it and lenders relied on their own analysis of Waymo's ability to repay. Alphabet's class A shares were up 0.44% at $352.04 at 10:33 ET.

Who lent the money

The group mixes the largest private-credit firms with managers that mostly buy public bonds, which is how a loan of this size gets placed without a public bond sale. Two of the names are old Waymo backers: T. Rowe Price and Fidelity joined its first outside equity round when it was extended in May 2020.

What 5.25 points over the benchmark costs

Each percentage point of margin on $5 billion costs $50 million a year, so the 5.25-point spread alone comes to about $262.5 million a year before the benchmark rate itself is added. A margin that wide is what private lenders charge borrowers without an investment-grade rating. Waymo's parent raises money on very different terms: when Alphabet sold $25 billion of bonds on August 6, it drew about $115 billion of orders.

Why borrow after raising $16 billion in equity

Waymo closed a $16 billion equity round in February 2026 that valued it at $126 billion, led by Dragoneer, DST Global and Sequoia, with Alphabet still the majority owner. Another share sale would dilute Alphabet and the other holders, while a loan leaves the ownership untouched, and at $5 billion it equals about 4% of that February valuation. Waymo also has a revenue base it lacked when it first took outside money: it said in February that it carried 15 million rides in 2025, three times the year before, and was providing more than 400,000 rides a week across six US metro areas.

How Waymo has raised money since 2020

1. March 2020: Waymo takes outside money for the first time, raising $2.25 billion.
2. May 2020: the round grows to $3 billion as T. Rowe Price, Perry Creek Capital and Fidelity join.
3. June 2021: a second outside round raises $2.5 billion.
4. October 2024: a $5.6 billion round led by Alphabet.
5. February 2, 2026: a $16 billion round at a $126 billion valuation.
6. October 6, 2026: Bloomberg reports the debut loan has been upsized to $5 billion.
7. October 8, 2026: Waymo closes the $5 billion term loan.