Facebook parent Meta is looking to potentially tap the bond market for the first time ever

• Meta is asking banks to explore its options for a bond sale, Bloomberg first reported.
• The firms include Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Barclay's.

Meta is reportedly exploring options for its first ever bond sale, tapping large Wall Street firms to find fixed-income investors.

The firms involved in the talks include Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, and Barclay's, according to Bloomberg.

The Facebook parent has historically avoided the bond market, making the tech giant one of only 18 companies in the S&P 500 without short or long-term debt obligations. The company has been hit hard by a loss of advertising revenue and squeezed by the rise of social media rivals like TikTok.

Shares of Meta rose nearly 5% to $168.01 Wednesday. Meta is down 50% from the start of 2022, as the company is shifting aggressively to focus on metaverse investments and technologies that chief executive Mark Zuckerberg has touted as the long-term aspiration of the company.

Meta has a AA investment grade rating from S&P Global, while Moody's has rated the company A1.

The company could potentially raise $50 billion through a bond offering, according to Bloomberg Intelligence. Meta has up until this point used cash to buyback stock, spending $5.1 billion in the second quarter alone. As of June 30, Meta had over $40 billion of cash and cash equivalents on hand.