Uploaded February 2025 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
In this session, I start with an assessment of the debt versus equity tradeoff, looking at fictional, real and frictional reasons for the use of debt. I then look at the debt at global companies in 2024, examining differences between sectors and regions. Looking for reasons why, I turn to corporate tax rates around the world (which increase tax benefits to borrowing) and default risk (which make it less attractive), and review how US companies reacted to the 2017 change in marginal tax rates. I finally turn to debt design, again starting with first principles, before chronicling the make up of debt (interest-bearing vs leases, fixed vs floating, and bonds vs bank loans) across the world. In sum, companies have weathered the higher interest rates that 2022 brought them, but the true test will come during a global slowdown or recession.
Slides: https://pages.stern.nyu.edu/~adamodar/pdfiles/blog/DataUpdate8for2025.pdf
Blog Post: aswathdamodaran.blogspot.com/2025/02/data-update-8-for-2025-debt-taxes-and.html
Data:
1. Debt details, by industry:
US: https://pages.stern.nyu.edu/~adamodar/pc/datasets/debtdetails.xls
Global: https://pages.stern.nyu.edu/~adamodar/pc/datasets/debtdetailsGlobal.xls
2. Debt fundamentals, by industry:
US: https://pages.stern.nyu.edu/~adamodar/pc/datasets/dbtfund.xls
Global: https://pages.stern.nyu.edu/~adamodar/pc/datasets/dbtfundGlobal.xls
In this session, I start with an assessment of the debt versus equity tradeoff, looking at fictional, real and frictional reasons for the use of debt. I then look at the debt at global companies in 2024, examining differences between sectors and regions. Looking for reasons why, I turn to corporate tax rates around the world (which increase tax benefits to borrowing) and default risk (which make it less attractive), and review how US companies reacted to the 2017 change in marginal tax rates. I finally turn to debt design, again starting with first principles, before chronicling the make up of debt (interest-bearing vs leases, fixed vs floating, and bonds vs bank loans) across the world. In sum, companies have weathered the higher interest rates that 2022 brought them, but the true test will come during a global slowdown or recession.
Slides: https://pages.stern.nyu.edu/~adamodar/pdfiles/blog/DataUpdate8for2025.pdf
Blog Post: aswathdamodaran.blogspot.com/2025/02/data-update-8-for-2025-debt-taxes-and.html
Data:
1. Debt details, by industry:
US: https://pages.stern.nyu.edu/~adamodar/pc/datasets/debtdetails.xls
Global: https://pages.stern.nyu.edu/~adamodar/pc/datasets/debtdetailsGlobal.xls
2. Debt fundamentals, by industry:
US: https://pages.stern.nyu.edu/~adamodar/pc/datasets/dbtfund.xls
Global: https://pages.stern.nyu.edu/~adamodar/pc/datasets/dbtfundGlobal.xls
