In a year marked by volatile markets, geopolitical shocks and selective investor risk appetite, JBS delivered one of the most comprehensive and convincing capital markets performances ever seen from a Latin American corporate. Through a landmark equity transaction followed almost immediately by a record-setting global bond offering, the global food producer demonstrated scale, execution discipline and strategic clarity across asset classes, earning it the award for Issuer of the Year.
The cornerstone of that performance came in mid-June, when JBS completed its long-anticipated listing on the New York Stock Exchange. The transaction was far more than a conventional IPO. It involved a complex corporate reorganization that established JBS N.V. as the group’s ultimate holding company, transferred the primary trading venue for JBS shares from Brazil’s B3 to the NYSE, and preserved access for Brazilian investors through a BDR program.
The $16 billion dual listing represented a defining moment for a Brazilian multinational of JBS’s scale. It required careful coordination across Brazil, the United States and the Netherlands, encompassing regulatory approvals, corporate governance alignment and cross-border structuring. Few Latin American companies have attempted — let alone executed — a transaction of comparable complexity, scope and strategic ambition.
The listing repositioned JBS firmly within the global institutional investor universe, expanded its equity investor base and enhanced liquidity, transparency and governance standards. Just as importantly, it set the stage for what followed next.
Less than ten days after the NYSE debut, JBS returned to the capital markets with its largest-ever bond issuance, a move that underscored both the depth of investor confidence generated by the listing and the company’s readiness to act decisively when market windows open.
On June 23, JBS priced a $3.5 billion senior unsecured bond offering in three tranches, with maturities of 10, 30 and 40 years. The deal was originally conceived as a $2 billion transaction, but overwhelming demand allowed the company to increase size materially while tightening pricing across the curve.
“The spread over Treasury of the 40-year tranche was the lowest ever for a BBB- issuer, including US companies,” says JBS CFO Guilherme Cavalcanti. “And the 10-year bond got the lowest spread over Treasure for Brazilian corporate bonds.”
The transaction marked JBS’s first-ever 40-year bond and placed it among a small group of global investment-grade corporates capable of accessing ultra-long tenor funding at competitive levels. The shape of the curve was equally striking, with a differential of just 15 basis points between the 10-year and 30-year tranches, signaling investor comfort across maturities and confidence in the company’s long-term credit profile.
“Demand was eight times higher than the offer that we had originally planned,” Cavalcanti says. “So we were able to increase the volume at the same time that we tightened spreads considerably.”
One institutional investor alone placed a $900 million order, split evenly across the three tranches, highlighting the scale and conviction of demand. The orderbook was dominated by long-only asset managers, reinforcing the company’s positioning as a high-grade issuer and reflecting a broad-based endorsement of its strategy.
Proceeds from the bond were used to support a comprehensive balance-sheet optimization, including the refinancing of upcoming maturities, the repayment of short-term debt and commercial paper, and general corporate purposes. The larger-than-expected size also gave JBS additional flexibility to accelerate liability management and return capital to shareholders through a $500 million share buyback program.
The timing of the bond added another layer to the issuer story. The deal launched in the immediate aftermath of a geopolitically charged weekend that had rattled global markets, following US military action in Iran and renewed tensions in the Middle East.
“Our goal is to be always prepared to access the market,” Cavalcanti says. “The Iran bombing happened on Saturday, but we noticed that the market woke up calm on Monday and we decided to go ahead. Despite the geopolitical noise, we had no problems with the deal.”
That readiness captures the essence of why JBS stands out as Corporate Issuer of the Year. In 2025, the company did not simply access capital markets opportunistically; it executed a coordinated, multi-asset strategy that reshaped its corporate structure, broadened its investor base and transformed its capital profile.
By combining a landmark NYSE listing with a record-breaking investment-grade bond offering — both executed with precision and confidence — JBS set a new benchmark for Latin American corporates operating on the global stage.