Overview
- At least 717 companies filed for bankruptcy through November 2025, a roughly 14% increase from a year earlier and the highest total since 2010, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence.
- Filings are now led by manufacturing, construction and transportation firms, marking a shift from prior years when retailers dominated.
- Cornerstone Research counted 17 mega bankruptcies in the first half of 2025, the most in any half-year since 2020.
- Companies and analysts cite inflation, high interest rates and trade policy pressures, with effective tariffs on imported solar cells and panels near 20% after May and duties totaling about $70 million a month.
- Notable cases include PosiGen, Nikola and Spirit Airlines, while federal data show manufacturing shed more than 70,000 jobs in the year ending November.