Knowledge Base

Companies that have filed for Bankruptcy

The following can be used to generate lists of companies that have filed for bankruptcy. The level of details about the bankruptcy vary by source.

• Audit Analytics – see WRDS access help
  • Contains hundreds of variables from the bankruptcy filing. It covers US Chapter's 7, 11, and 15 from 2000-1 month ago for SEC registrants. Can easily link to Compustat and CRSP.
  • Under Subscriptions select Audit Analytics. Under Corporate and Legal select Bankruptcy Notification. See instructions for using the Web Query Form to download data.
• Capital IQ – see Capital IQ access help
  • Screen for companies that have filed for bankruptcy.
  • Instructions:
    1. In the top navigation bar, hover over Screening > Companies.
    2. Use the links in the Bankruptcy Details box (lower right) to screen for specific variables (Type of bankruptcy, Date of filing, etc.).
    3. Add to search criteria and press View Results.
• SDC Platinum – see SDC Platinum access help
  • Covers Chapter 11 filings in the U.S.
  • When in SDC, go to Corporate Restructuring > Full Detail Bankruptcies (1988-present).
  • See SDC Platinum download instructions.

U.S. Bankruptcy Statistics & Data

These sources provide bankruptcy statistics for businesses and non-businesses by Chapter (7, 11, 12, 13).

• Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts
  • Quarterly data (and data for the single months of January, April, July, and October) is available at the circuit and district level. Annual data is available at the state, circuit, district, and county level.
• American Bankruptcy Institute
  • Includes a variety of bankruptcy statistics, most at the national level.
• Florida-UCLA-LoPucki Bankruptcy Research Database
  • Data on all of the more than one-thousand large public companies that filed bankruptcy cases between October 1, 1979 and December 31, 2022.

Business Exits

• Census Bureau Business Dynamics Statistics
  • Summary or aggregate data on the variables including the number of business exits and rate of exits nationwide, by state, and by sector.