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sysk

> Tesla's 5.3% bonds are unchanged at 89 cents on the dollar

Can anyone explain this like I'm 5?

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The bonds pay 5.3% of their $1000 face value in interest every year, or $53.

You can buy this bond for $890, so the effective interest rate is actually 53 / 890 = 5.96% per year.

The fact that the price of the bonds is unchanged indicates that Tesla's earnings report didn't cause any change in market expectations of the company's ability to repay the bonds in full.

The price could drop to, say, 79 cents on the dollar if there's a greater probability that Tesla goes bankrupt and the bonds won't be repaid.

Bond prices also fall when market interest rates increase since that $53 per year isn't as competitive if other investments yield more.

Thanks for your explanation, let me see if I understand.

They promise to give $1,000 in some years, plus $53 per annum until that happens. That promise is currently worth $890. But if people were worried about the repayments, that might fall to $790. So they get less money for taking on the same debt.

Have I understood?

What are the rates at companies like Apple or Exxon?

Apple has bonds that pay 3.85% that mature in 2043.

They're currently trading at about 95 cents on the dollar, for an effective yield of 4.05%.

There's nearly zero risk that Apple will default. Their bonds sell at a discount because market interest rates have increased since the bonds were issued, making them worth less.

Note that Tesla's bonds yield almost a full percentage point more than Apple's bonds, which reflects Tesla's higher probability of default.

But if investors were really worried about default, they'd demand a lot more than an extra 1%.

See --> https://imgur.com/a/OLKqgga

It's worth noting that a 2043 bond is a very very different beast to a 2025 bond. The further in the future maturity happens, the more risk there is of a change in circumstance which results in default.

> What are the rates at companies like Apple or Exxon?

Anytime they issue a new bond, figures change so difficult to give a straight answer. For Apple, bonds typically range around 3/3.5% yield. And prices of the bond usually stay above 90 cents on the dollar, AFAIK (not an expert)

For 89 cents you can buy a Tesla bond with a face value of $1 which accrues at a rate of 5.3% per annum (so would have a face value of 105.3 cents after one year). Tesla will hopefully pay back the face value but they may not if they go bankrupt.

Bonds pay a coupon, or interest, directly rather than accruing face value.

Some bonds don't but you are correct these bonds do. However it isn't guaranteed that coupons will be paid on time especially if a company is in financial difficulty.

depends on the type of bond. not all bonds are coupon bonds.

What is the minimum of these bonds one can buy?

Ask your broker. I would guess one so that would be $89 at the current price

The bond denomination is 1000 and usually brokers have minimum lot size of 10, so it would be $8900. However many brokers have minimum trade size of $10K on bonds as well, so the "ask your broker" is the best advice :-)

Minimum investment size is $2k face value (i.e. you'd pay ~89% of $2,000).

https://www.bondsupermart.com/main/bond-info/bond-factsheet/...

You can buy a bond that forces Tesla to repay you $1 in X years, for 89 cents.

Bonds trading below value happen when there is uncertainty whether it can actually be repaid in the future by the company (e.g. maybe it is unsecured debt).

If repaid the yield would have been 5.3% per annum + the 11% difference it trades below value

Is it not also that they will pay you a 5.3 percent dividend every year until repaid? Not that I really know much about this so likely wrong!

The coupon (dividend) is 5.3% per year, and the bond repays in about 7 years, while trading at a 11% discount.

As a first-order approximation, you can imagine that you are getting paid 5.3% + (11% / 7 years) = 6.87%.

A slightly more accurate calculation shows that yield is actually closer to 7.36%. You can find the bond here:

http://markets.businessinsider.com/bonds/tesla_incdl-notes_2...

Yes Tesla's latest unsecured bonds have a coupon rate of 5.3% which they pay biannually. So for a bond with a face value of $1 they will pay you ~2.6 cents every 6 months.

Yes, they pay interest + will (hopefully) repay capital at the expiration date.

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