Wave of Corporate Bankruptcies Hits US Businesses

The U.S. business sector is facing a sharp surge in corporate bankruptcies, with nine major companies filing for bankruptcy just last week. This pushes the three-week average to six filings, a rate not seen since the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, according to reports released on Wednesday.

This alarming trend means that at least 18 companies, each carrying liabilities of $50 million or more, have collapsed financially and exited the market over the past three weeks, evoking memories of previous severe economic crises in the world’s largest economy.

Historically, such high levels of bankruptcies among major corporations have only occurred during rare and extreme periods, such as the brief post-2001 recession, the 2008 global financial crisis, and the economic fallout from the 2020 coronavirus pandemic.

For context, the peak of corporate bankruptcies in this century reached an average of nine companies over three weeks, recorded in 2009. The current wave shows a rapid acceleration, signaling a concerning stress on U.S. businesses that demands close attention