Now that the United States of America has lost its last perfect credit rating, bond investors might wonder if it makes more sense to hold long-term Treasuries, or invest instead in the long-term debt of the few U.S. companies that have the best rating from Moody’s.

Apple has a healthy balance sheet, with $132.9 billion in cash and marketable securities as of the end of March.

Take a look at Apple, for example. The iPhone maker’s long-term bonds still have the top credit rating, Aaa, from Moody’s—as do Microsoft and Johnson & Johnson. (Standard & Poor’s rates Apple’s bonds as AA+, a notch below its highest score. S&P downgraded its U.S. credit rating to AA+ in 2011. Fitchlowered its rating on the U.S.in 2023.)

Apple has a healthy balance sheet, with $132.9 billion in cash and marketable securities as of the end of March and $92.2 billion in debt. The balance sheet might get even stronger. After Apple’s earnings report earlier this month, Dave Novosel, senior analyst for U.S. investment grade with bond research firm Gimme Credit, said the company is on pace to generate more than $90 billion of free cash flow this fiscal year.

With that in mind, Apple’s long-term bonds could be better income options for investors than Treasuries right now. According to FactSet, Apple bonds maturing in May 2035 recently traded at a yield of 4.94%. That’s higher than the current yield of about 4.5% for the 10-Year Treasury note. That’s also a lot higher than the dividend yield of 0.5% for Apple stock.

Moody’s lowered the U.S. long-term bond rating by one notch on Friday to Aa1, citing concerns about the widening federal deficit. So investors looking to lock in higher yields might want to do so with “safer” higher-rated corporate bonds, like Apple’s.

“We could go through periods where the bond market will be uncomfortable with deficits and the level of Treasury supply,” said Andrzej Skiba, head of BlueBay U.S. fixed income at RBC Global Asset Management, in an interview with Barron’s.

Skiba added that within the investment-grade corporate universe, there is particular value in the tech sector. That presumably should bode well for Apple’s bonds, as well as Microsoft’s.

Investment-grade corporate bonds in general have also outperformed longer-dated Treasuries so far in 2025—and they pay higher yields. The iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond exchange-traded fund (LQD) is up slightly this year, and has a yield of 4.5%. Meanwhile, theiShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (TLT) is down 2% and yields about 3.9%.

That could be in part due to concerns about the political situation in the U.S. Some investors, particularly international ones, may be shunning Treasuries because of worries about escalating tariffs and fluctuating trade policy.

“A lot of people will use Apple, Microsoft and J&J bonds as proxies for Treasuries. Bond investors will hide out there,” said Jon Brager, a portfolio manager at Palmer Square Capital Management, in an interview with Barron’s.

But at the end of the day, Brager said even the highest quality corporate bonds could be riskier than Treasuries. For instance, there was volatility for even top corporate bonds shortly after the early April “Liberation Day” tariff announcements from Trump, he noted.

“You’re better off owning Treasuries for a flight to safety,” he said.

So Treasuries, even at a notch below the top credit rating, are still a good bet for investors looking for income and stability. But given that Apple’s corporate bonds offer a little bit better yield, high quality corporates are probably just as safe as U.S. government debt.