Insolvency Watch: U.S. Business-Failure Data Through May 2026
Part of a recurring series tracking the credit data behind customer risk. Figures are dated to their source; the most recent are Epiq/ABI releases through May 2026. The data updates monthly.
The latest filings
Small-business bankruptcies, captured as Subchapter V elections, totaled 281 in May 2026, a 36% increase over May 2025, and total U.S. bankruptcy filings rose 7% year over year, according to Epiq AACER and the American Bankruptcy Institute (June 5, 2026). Monthly Chapter 11 counts swing with the timing of corporate-subsidiary filings, so the quarterly figures give a cleaner read: in the first quarter of 2026, commercial Chapter 11 filings rose 37% year over year to 2,422, Subchapter V elections rose 67% to 833, and total commercial bankruptcies rose 14% to 8,436. In April 2026, commercial Chapter 11 filings were up 42% year over year.
The annual and large-company picture
Large-company bankruptcies reached 785 in 2025, the highest since 2010, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence. The Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts recorded 24,737 business bankruptcy filings in the year ending December 2025, up 7.1%. Coface raised its 2026 global insolvency forecast to about 6% in June, more than double its earlier estimate, after failures rose roughly 12% in early 2026 with North America up 22%.
By size and sector
The datasets cover different parts of the market. S&P Global’s index tracks large companies with public debt or substantial assets; through 2025 its filings concentrated in industrials, consumer discretionary, and healthcare. Subchapter V elections and the broader commercial filing counts capture small and mid-sized private businesses, the segment posting the largest year-over-year increases in 2026.
What a default recovers
When a customer files, general unsecured creditors, the class most trade balances fall into, typically recover only a fraction of what they are owed and wait months or years for any distribution, which can reach zero if the case converts to a liquidation. The main statutory exception is the administrative priority for goods a customer received in the 20 days before filing (Bankruptcy Code Section 503(b)(9)); balances older than that rank as general unsecured claims.
The refinancing backdrop
S&P Global Ratings reported that companies rated CCC and below face $45.3 billion of debt maturing in 2026, against $21.2 billion for higher-rated B- issuers. Through 2025, private-credit liquidity and liability-management transactions allowed some borrowers to postpone filings; restructuring advisers cited in that coverage note such deals often precede a full restructuring rather than prevent one.
The figures above track the rate and composition of U.S. business failures and what a filing returns to unsecured trade creditors. How they bear on a given company depends on its customer mix and receivables concentration. Trade Credit Group can help map that exposure.
Sources
• Epiq Bankruptcy / American Bankruptcy Institute, May Small Business Filings Increase 36% From Previous Year (June 5, 2026) —
• Epiq Bankruptcy / American Bankruptcy Institute, First Quarter Subchapter V Small Business Filings Increase 67% Over Previous Year (Apr. 8, 2026) —
• Epiq Bankruptcy / American Bankruptcy Institute, April Commercial Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Filings Increase 42% From Previous Year (May 6, 2026) —
• S&P Global Market Intelligence, US corporate bankruptcy filings accelerate further in December 2025 (Jan. 9, 2026) —
• S&P Global Market Intelligence, US corporate bankruptcies ease in November yet 2025 filings set 15-year high (Dec. 5, 2025) —
• Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, Bankruptcy Filings Rise 11 Percent (Feb. 4, 2026) —
https://www.uscourts.gov/data-news/judiciary-news/2026/02/04/bankruptcy-filings-rise-11-percent
• Coface, Insolvencies are on the rise again against a backdrop of a deteriorating economic climate (June 2026) —
https://www.coface.com/news-economy-and-insights
General information only; not insurance, financial, or legal advice.