Bankruptcies are on the rise. What it means, in 3 charts.

"S&P Global Market Intelligence reported some 68 bankruptcies in October, bringing the 2025 total to 655 for the first 10 months of the year. Assuming the trend continues through November and December, 2025 will end the year with 792 bankruptcies. That's more companies having filed for bankruptcy protection than any year since 2010, when S&P tracked 828 corporate bankruptcies."

"S&P, which only tracks companies of a certain size, said it's seeing the most bankruptcies in the industrials sector (think manufacturing), followed by consumer discretionary (think fashion). This year's high-profile bankruptcy filings have included electric truck maker Nikola, Spirit Airlines, and fashion accessory retailer Claire's."

"While 2025 bankruptcies are now on track to reach their highest levels since 2010, they are still expected to be significantly lower than the levels reached at the height of the Great Depression. In 2008, the year Lehman Brothers failed, leading to massive bank bailouts, S&P tracked 5,335 bankruptcies. The next year, it tracked 5,026."

S&P Global Market Intelligence reported 68 bankruptcies in October and 655 filings through the first ten months of 2025, projecting about 792 for the full year if current trends hold. That projected total would be the most corporate bankruptcies since 2010, when S&P tracked 828 filings. The largest share of recent bankruptcies has appeared in the industrials sector, followed by consumer discretionary. High-profile 2025 filings include Nikola, Spirit Airlines, and Claire's. Despite the rise, 2025 totals remain far below Great Recession levels, when S&P tracked more than 5,000 bankruptcies in both 2008 and 2009.

Read at Business Insider