US companies with the most debt
Short- plus long-term borrowings at the latest fiscal year end. For banks and insurers, borrowing is part of the business model rather than a sign of strain. JPMorgan Chase leads with $500.0bn in fiscal 2025. The top 100 of 3,053 companies with a figure on file.
Would buying this list have paid?
Buying the top 100 companies by total debt, as the list stood each quarter since March 31, 2010, would have returned +13.2% a year against +14.0% for the S&P 500. No: it trailed the S&P 500 bought and held.
| Return a year | Typical yearly swing | Sharpe ratio | Biggest drop | Moves with market (beta) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Top 100 by total debt | +13.2% | 14.8% | 0.82 | -27.3% | 0.88 |
| S&P 500, buy and hold | +14.0% | 15.1% | 0.87 | -23.9% | 1.00 |
- Ahead of the S&P 500 in 43.9% of 66 quarters.
- Extra return after allowing for market risk (alpha): +0.8% a year No reliable evidence t = 0.45
- Against the S&P 500: +0.9% a year in 2010–2017, −2.4% in 2018–2026.
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