Sundaram Iyer’s Post

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CDAO | Director | Data Science | Quants | Trainer | Visiting Faculty

Snowflake’s Zero-Interest Gamble: Bonds That Don’t Pay—Until They Do So, Snowflake just pulled off a cool trick—issuing $2 billion in convertible bonds with a zero interest rate. Yeah, zero. Why would anyone buy these? Because they aren't really buying bonds; they’re buying stock options in disguise. Investors are banking on Snowflake’s stock skyrocketing, and when it does, they can convert these notes into equity. Snowflake sweetens the deal with a "capped call" to reduce dilution, and there's even an extra $150 million option in case investors can’t get enough. But let’s talk about risk. Sure, there are no interest payments to collect, but investors aren’t here for coupon clipping. They’re betting on Snowflake’s stock doing well, which has been as unpredictable as any high-flying tech name since its IPO. The capped call transaction is Snowflake’s way of saying, “We’ll cap how much your shares dilute if things take off,” meaning the upside is potentially massive, but tempered to keep the stockholder peace. It’s smart. It’s flashy. And, oh, the kicker: Snowflake will use a portion of the proceeds to buy back its own stock—up to $575 million worth. So, not only do they issue debt without paying interest, but they also help stabilize their stock price by repurchasing shares. Meanwhile, investors in these zero-interest bonds better hope the stock keeps going up, because if it doesn’t, they’re left with a no-interest bond whose only potential reward was equity conversion. Snowflake knows what it's doing. This is a high-stakes game where they hold all the cards—no interest payments, stock buybacks, and enough optimism that the stock will make everyone richer. If you’re buying this bond, you’re not buying safety—you’re buying a shot at being in on the next big tech win. Just remember: no interest, no guarantees. #snowflake #bond #finance

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Dr. Praveen Kumar Loharkar

Passionate Learner|Educator|Researcher|Gold Medallist|2x SAS Certified

2mo

Awesome strategy on the part of Snowflake.

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