U.S. corporate default risk eases: S&P

The threat of U.S. corporate debt defaults eased in the third quarter, according to new data from S&P Global Market Intelligence.

The research firm reported that default risk declined for most U.S. companies and across most industry sectors last quarter, as the median default probability fell in seven of 11 sectors and remained flat in the other four.

“Global corporate defaults are slowing in 2024 compared to 2023, with 67 defaults by U.S. companies in the first nine months of 2024, 10 fewer than the same period a year earlier,” it reported.

The industries with the highest risk of default by the end of the third quarter were the oil-and-gas equipment-and-services sector, and the publishing sector, S&P said.

“For the publishing industry, this is at least the third quarter in a row that the industry has landed at or near the top of most vulnerable industries,” it noted.

Storage REITs and regional banks were ranked as the sectors with the lowest default risk by the end of the quarter.

James Langton

James is a senior reporter for Advisor.ca and its sister publication, Investment Executive. He has been reporting on regulation, securities law, industry news and more since 1994.