US corporate bankruptcies decline to 55 in February

The number of large US corporate bankruptcy filings in February dipped from January's monthly total.

Monthly bankruptcy filings declined to 55 in February from a revised 58 in January, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence data. Bankruptcies in the first two months of 2026 totaled 113, falling from 129 for the same period in 2025. Since 2011, filings through February are at their second-highest level this year. The data includes companies with public debt and at least $2 million in assets or liabilities, as well as private companies with at least $10 million in assets or liabilities at the time of filing.

Full-year bankruptcies in 2026 still may surpass 2025 totals as companies with significant debt burdens continue to refinance lower-interest debt from previous years at elevated rates. Certain sectors face additional challenges such as inflationary costs, shifting consumer patterns, a softening labor market and tariff policy uncertainty.

"Continued economic instability driven by policy uncertainty and supply chain disruption and price pressure will continue consumer habits that led to the 2025 increase in bankruptcies," Ted Gavin, managing director and founding partner at Gavin/Solmonese, told Market Intelligence. "Geopolitics are likely to play an ever-larger role in US economic pressure, which will drive more companies into distress and, ultimately, bankruptcy as well."

However, bankruptcies have risen from suppressed levels in 2021 and 2022, when companies had access to expanded government stimulus programs and historically low interest rates following the COVID-19 pandemic, and filings have not reached the numbers seen in "true crisis environments" such as the global financial crisis from 2007 to 2009, Dean Lyulkin, CEO of small business lender Cardiff, told Market Intelligence.

"For years, companies benefited from near-zero rates, covenant flexibility, stimulus programs and aggressive lender forbearance," Lyulkin said. "That environment delayed failures. Now, higher borrowing costs are working through the system with a lag."

Lyulkin said the current bankruptcy cycle is a balance sheet reset and a normalization after the pandemic years of monetary and fiscal distortion.

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Notable filings

Two companies entered bankruptcy in February with more than $1 billion in liabilities at the time of filing.

Apparel retailer Eddie Bauer LLC entered a restructuring support agreement with its secured lenders and filed for bankruptcy on Feb. 9. The company said it would conduct liquidation sales at its brick-and-mortar retail and outlet stores in the US and Canada while pursuing a sale of all or part of its store operations. It retained a real estate advisory firm in early March to market its 174 retail store leases during bankruptcy.

Catalyst Brands LLC, the owner of the Eddie Bauer brand, said the retailer's operations have faced declining sales, supply chain challenges and other issues in recent years. Challenges persisted over the past year due to increased business costs from inflation, tariff uncertainty and other factors, Catalyst Brands CEO Marc Rosen said in a statement.

Eddie Bauer's e-commerce and wholesale operations will continue to operate and will not be affected by the store closures.

Inspired Healthcare Capital Holdings LLC filed for bankruptcy Feb. 2, with plans to deleverage its balance sheet, facilitate a formal marketing and sale process, and implement a comprehensive restructuring. It secured $35 million in debtor-in-possession financing to support operations during the marketing and sale process.

The Scottsdale, Arizona-based company develops, manages and operates housing communities for senior citizens. Its communities will remain operational during bankruptcy.

Sector breakdown

Bankruptcies were concentrated in the consumer discretionary and industrial sectors in February, with nine combined filings. Through the first two months of the year, the sectors have accounted for at least 21 bankruptcies.

The materials sector had the third-highest number of filings among sectors through the first two months of the year with six bankruptcies.

This Data Dispatch is updated regularly. The previous edition was published Feb. 9.

Bankruptcy figures include public companies or private companies with public debt with a minimum of $2 million in assets or liabilities at the time of filing, in addition to private companies with at least $10 million in assets or liabilities. S&P Global Market Intelligence may remove companies from this list if it discovers that their total assets and liabilities do not meet the threshold requirement for inclusion.

This report may contain information about credit ratings issued by S&P Global Ratings. Descriptions in this report were not prepared by S&P Global Ratings.