Goldman Sachs thinks corporate America is going to keep selling stock. A lot of it.
In a report dated October 9, 2026, Goldman strategist Ben Snider forecast that US equity issuance will reach $600 billion in 2027. That would follow a 2026 the bank now expects to set an all-time record. Put together, it adds up to two of the biggest years for stock sales the US market has seen.
Breaking down the $600 billion
The 2027 projection has two main pieces. Goldman expects $175 billion to come from initial public offerings, the classic debut of a company on a public exchange.
The remaining $425 billion is expected to come from follow-on offerings, convertible securities, and special purpose acquisition companies, better known as SPACs. A follow-on is what it sounds like: a company that is already public goes back to investors and sells more shares. Convertibles are bonds that can turn into stock later. SPACs are blank-check shells that raise money first and find a business to merge with afterward.
The forecast lands after a blockbuster stretch. Companies have already raised approximately $431 billion through equity offerings so far in 2026. That figure represents a 98% increase compared to the previous year.
Goldman now expects full-year 2026 issuance to hit a record $675 billion. The previous high-water mark was $540 billion, set in 2021.
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AI is the engine
The common thread running through all of this is artificial intelligence. AI-related follow-on offerings have raised about $65 billion in 2026, according to the report. That accounts for around 45% of total US follow-on issuance this year.
The spending numbers explain why. Goldman expects the major cloud and hyperscale companies, Amazon, Alphabet, Meta, Microsoft, and Oracle, to spend $1.2 trillion on capital expenditures in 2027. That compares to $1.1 trillion in operating cash flow for the same group.
That gap matters. When a company plans to spend more than the cash its business generates, it has to find the difference somewhere. Borrowing is one option. Selling stock is another.
The lock-up wall
There is a second supply story building in the background. Approximately $1.7 trillion in shares could become tradable in 2027 as lock-up restrictions expire.
Lock-ups are the waiting periods that stop insiders and early investors from selling right after a company goes public. They exist so a fresh listing isn’t immediately flooded with sellers. When those periods end, the shares can hit the open market.
Goldman says this wave could potentially produce the largest increase in net publicly available US equity supply since 2000.
Goldman’s view, however, is that the market can handle it. The bank predicts that heightened corporate buyback activity and sustained investor demand will help absorb the additional volume. In its telling, that support should keep the broader bull market moving, even if valuations come under some pressure.
What this means for investors
The first implication is opportunity. A pipeline of $175 billion in IPOs means a steady stream of new companies reaching public markets.
The second implication is dilution risk. Every follow-on offering adds shares to the pool. Existing holders own a slightly smaller slice of the company each time. When nearly half of follow-on volume is coming from AI-linked names, holders of those stocks should keep an eye on how often their companies return to the well.
The third is the balance between supply and absorption. Goldman’s optimism rests on two pillars: buybacks and investor appetite. Buybacks shrink share counts and offset some of the new supply. If either pillar weakens, the $1.7 trillion lock-up wave and the issuance pipeline could become a much heavier load for the market to carry.
The hyperscaler math is worth watching closely too. A $1.2 trillion capex plan against $1.1 trillion in operating cash flow works fine while investors reward AI spending. If sentiment shifts and markets start questioning returns on that investment, the funding gap gets more uncomfortable.
Disclosure: This article was edited by Diego Almada Lopez. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.