3 Stocks Tied To Bond Market Plumbing As Credit Tightens and Borrowing Builds

Credit is slowing, AI capex is ballooning, and U.S. government borrowing is piling up, so the bond and fixed income plumbing of the market is suddenly front and center. That mix could reshape where risk and liquidity flow next, and investors who ignore it may miss important shifts in how returns are generated. This article unpacks those pressures and profiles 3 stocks exposed to this news backdrop.

The three stocks highlighted below are just a starter set. The full screen surfaced 20 more U.S. bond and fixed-income infrastructure companies with equally compelling narratives that are not covered here. To go beyond this short list, analyze and identify your own highest-conviction ideas directly in the U.S. Bond and Fixed-Income Market Infrastructure Beneficiaries screener.

Voya Financial (VOYA)

Voya Financial matters for this screener because it sits where retirement savings, employee benefits, and fixed-income investing meet. That mix gives the group a direct link to busy bond markets plus a large workplace footprint that can feed higher fee income over time.

Voya Financial manages workplace retirement, benefits, and investment products that lean heavily on fixed-income portfolios, tying the firm indirectly to an active bond market. Most revenue comes from Retirement and Employee Benefits at about $3.4b each, with Investment Management adding roughly $1.3b, and the stock is valued at about $8.6b.

"The expanding workplace-centric ecosystem, with about 1.3b of combined assets across Retirement and Investment Management and access to more than 50,000 employers and 18 million customers, gives Voya Financial more scope to move retirement participants into wealth and investment products. This can support higher fee revenue and more durable earnings. If returns on the alternative investment portfolio remain below internal expectations for a prolonged period, as seen when Retirement segment alternatives were about 2.5% annualised below plan and reduced EPS by roughly 0.90 per share in Q2 2026, it could limit spread income and introduce more volatility into both earnings and net margins."

What happens to Voya Financial’s future margin profile may hinge on how a single pressure point inside its investment engine resolves.

That hinge point is where the risk really starts to matter, and the full narrative for Voya Financial lays out how that pressure could either fade quietly or begin to accelerate larger shifts in returns.

Webull (BULL)

Webull runs a global digital brokerage that connects retail investors directly to equity, option, crypto, and bond-related ETF trading. It fits this screener as a direct play on higher order flow when volatility in fixed-income markets pulls more users onto electronic platforms.

Webull generates about US$672 million from brokerage activity, with most of that tied to trading on its digital platform, and the stock carries a market value near US$3.9 billion.

"Rapid adoption and reintroduction of crypto trading, alongside the platform's ability to quickly add new digital asset classes and prediction markets, positions Webull to capture growing demand for broad, mobile-accessible investment options, fueling revenue growth and market share."

The impact on margins and funding costs, as one still underappreciated shift in how fixed-income products trade on Webull continues to develop, will be important.

As that shift plays out, read the full narrative for Webull to see how Webull’s revenue mix, risk profile, and user engagement could be quietly decoupling from peers.

Equitable Holdings (EQH)

Equitable Holdings plugs into the screener theme through its large retirement, insurance, and asset management platform, where managing complex, bond heavy portfolios can become more valuable as interest rates stay higher for longer and clients look for help handling that extra fixed income risk.

Equitable Holdings runs retirement, protection, asset management, and wealth advice franchises that together produce most of its revenue from Retirement at about US$6.7b, Asset Management at roughly US$4.6b, and Wealth Management near US$2.1b, with the group valued at about US$14.2b.

"The planned Corebridge merger is expected to create a top-scale U.S. insurer with more than 10 million clients, about US$30b of GAAP book value and roughly US$5b of operating earnings capacity, which could improve operating leverage and support higher EPS if the combined business delivers on its earnings and cash flow targets."

What happens if one quiet shift in how Equitable Holdings prices and manages long dated credit risk goes differently from what the merger math assumes?

If that pricing shift is where the real story starts, the full narrative for Equitable Holdings shows how Equitable Holdings could turn that risk into accelerating earnings power.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

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