US margin debt surged to $1.48 trillion in September 2026, reaching 4.5% of GDP and 6.3% of M2 money supply, approaching 2000 dot-com bubble levels.
Macro & Markets ·
US margin debt reached $1.48 trillion in September 2026, climbing $26 billion in a single month and marking the second-highest level on record. The surge has accelerated sharply since the year began, with margin debt expanding by $255 billion, or 21 percent, over the first nine months of 2026. Measured as a share of GDP, margin debt now stands at 4.5 percent—a record high that exceeds the previous peak of 3.6 percent recorded in 2021.
The ratio of margin debt to M2 money supply has reached 6.3 percent, the third-highest reading in available data. This metric approaches the 6.4 percent level observed during the 2000 dot-com bubble, the only period on record to show materially higher leverage relative to the money supply. The comparison underscores how sharply the use of borrowed money for stock purchases has intensified relative to both economic output and monetary aggregates.
What remains unclear is whether this concentration of leverage poses systemic risk or reflects structural changes in market participation. The sustainability of current borrowing levels and potential triggers for deleveraging remain open questions as market conditions evolve.