NEW YORK, December 29, 2025, 09:16 ET
- At least 717 U.S. companies filed for bankruptcy through November, the most since 2010, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence data.
- Industrials led filings this year, followed by consumer discretionary and healthcare, the data showed.
- Small-business and personal bankruptcy filings also rose in November, industry groups said.
U.S. corporate bankruptcies have climbed to a 15-year high in 2025, with at least 717 companies filing through November as tariffs and higher borrowing costs strained cash flow and demand. 1
The jump matters because it is showing up across a wide range of industries, rather than concentrating in one troubled sector, and it is starting to hit smaller firms and households as well. That mix can pressure jobs, suppliers and lenders as the year closes. 1
Companies are dealing with higher interest expenses and tariff-related cost shocks at the same time consumers rein in spending on nonessentials, according to recent reporting by the Washington Post and Business Insider. 1
S&P Global Market Intelligence’s tally includes filings under Chapter 11 and Chapter 7, the Post said. Chapter 11 is a court-supervised reorganization that lets a business keep operating while it restructures debt, while Chapter 7 typically winds a company down and sells assets to repay creditors. 1
Industry-by-industry, industrial companies tied to manufacturing, construction and transportation were the most distressed through November, with 110 filings, according to the S&P data cited by Business Insider. Consumer discretionary firms followed with 85 filings, and healthcare had 46. 2
The Independent, summarizing the same S&P figures, said the rise has been attributed to inflation, high interest rates and tariff policies that have raised costs and disrupted supply chains. 3
Large failures have spanned airlines, food and retail. Business Insider cited examples including Spirit Airlines, Del Monte Foods, retailer Claire’s and CVS Health subsidiary Omnicare, with court filings listing more than $1 billion in liabilities in each case. 2
A separate slice of the trend is “mega bankruptcies” — filings by companies with more than $1 billion in assets. Cornerstone Research counted 17 such cases from January through June, the highest half-year total since 2020, the Washington Post reported. 1
Tariffs have hit unevenly. KPMG senior economist Meagan Martin-Schoenberger told the Post that tariff exemptions have tended to benefit tech companies tied to artificial intelligence, leaving more “lower-tech” industries with less relief. 1
Renewable-energy supply chains have been a pressure point. The Post said residential solar installer PosiGen filed for Chapter 11 and cited changes in renewable-energy policy and steep tariffs on imported materials needed for projects. 1
Jason Miller, a business professor at Michigan State University, analyzed federal data and found the effective tariff rate for imported solar cells and panels climbed to about 20% after May 2025, compared with less than 5% in prior years, the Post reported. Miller said solar importers were paying close to $70 million a month in duties in the second half of the year for the most common type of panel. 1
The strain is also showing up in household and small-business data. Business Insider cited American Bankruptcy Institute and Epiq Bankruptcy Analytics figures showing Subchapter V filings — a streamlined Chapter 11 option for small firms below a debt cap — were running at more than 2,300 year-to-date through mid-December, nearly 10% higher than a year earlier. 2
In November alone, Subchapter V filings totaled 223, up 23% from the prior year, according to ABI data cited by Business Insider. 2
Personal bankruptcy filings rose 8% in November to 40,973, ABI figures cited by Business Insider showed. Chapter 7 filings rose 11% to 25,329, and Chapter 13 filings rose 5% to 15,558. 2
“Bankruptcies seem to be kind of all over the place,” Robert Stark, a partner at Brown Rudnick who chairs its bankruptcy and restructuring practice, told Business Insider. 2
