Large corporate bankruptcy filings increase for third consecutive year as out-of-court restructurings through liability management transactions reach record highs.
The elevated pace of large corporate bankruptcy filings that began in early 2023 continued through the latter half of 2024 and into the first half of 2025, according to a new report from Cornerstone Research.
The report, Trends in Large Corporate Bankruptcy and Financial Distress—Midyear 2025 Update, found a 4% increase in Chapter 7 and Chapter 11 filings among public and private companies with assets exceeding $100 million. Over the last 12 months (2H 2024–1H 2025), 117 large companies filed for bankruptcy, up from 113 in the previous 12 months (2H 2023–1H 2024). This figure is 44% above the 2005–2024 annual average of 81 bankruptcies. The report also found that the use of liability management transactions (LMTs) reached a record level with 46 completed transactions in 2024 and 27 in 1H 2025.
This past year, large corporate bankruptcy filers have increasingly pointed to shifts in the regulatory, legal, and policy landscape as another key driver of financial distress, in particular policies relating to renewable energy or international trade.
Over the past 12 months, there were 32 mega bankruptcies (those filed by companies with over $1 billion in reported assets), up from 24 in the prior 12 months and well above the 2005–2024 historical average of 23. In the first half of 2025, there were 17 mega bankruptcies, the highest number of any half-year period since the COVID-19 outbreak in 2020.
“Consistent with prior years, companies filing mega bankruptcies over the last year have continued to fault high inflation and interest rates, which have impacted consumer demand and raised the costs of operating and raising capital,” said Matt Osborn, a principal at Cornerstone Research and coauthor of the report. “This past year, large corporate bankruptcy filers have increasingly pointed to shifts in the regulatory, legal, and policy landscape as another key driver of financial distress, in particular policies relating to renewable energy or international trade.”