As the U.S. economy continues to expand in the wake of the Great Recession, many companies are taking advantage of low interest rates and cheap credit and are increasing their borrowing levels. Corporate debt levels for non-financial U.S. companies reached, according to S&P Global, $7.1 trillion in 2019 — more than a third of GDP — the largest corporate debt load in history.
Much of the corporate debt is concentrated in just a few large companies. The top 10 non-financial U.S. companies with the greatest debt loads account for 13% of the national corporate debt, and the top 40 companies account for 26% of all long-term corporate debt in the country.
To determine the companies with the biggest corporate debt, 24/7 Wall St. analyzed the long-term debt of non-financial companies in the Fortune 500 with data from SEC filings for the latest fiscal year. Long-term debt refers to outstanding debt a company holds that is due in a period of 12 months or longer and includes obligations such as bonds and individual notes payable.
Of the 40 companies with the biggest corporate debt loads, seven are in the technology sector, four in utilities, four in energy, and four in telecommunications. Many of the tech companies on this list are also among the world’s 50 most innovative companies, and many of the industries represented by the most debt-laden companies also operate within America’s 25 thriving industries.
Click here to see the companies with the biggest corporate debts
Click here to read our detailed findings and methodology
40. FirstEnergy (NYSE: FE)
> Long-term debt: $17.8 billion
> Debt-to-equity ratio: 2.61
> Annual revenue: $11.3 billion
> Industry: Utilities
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39. PG&E Corp. (NYSE: PCG)
> Long-term debt: $18.6 billion
> Debt-to-equity ratio: 1.44
> Annual revenue: $16.8 billion
> Industry: Utilities
38. Merck (NYSE: MRK)
> Long-term debt: $19.8 billion
> Debt-to-equity ratio: 0.74
> Annual revenue: $42.3 billion
> Industry: Pharmaceuticals
37. UPS (NYSE: UPS)
> Long-term debt: $19.9 billion
> Debt-to-equity ratio: 6.56
> Annual revenue: $71.9 billion
> Industry: Mail, package, and freight delivery
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36. Cisco Systems (NASDAQ: CSCO)
> Long-term debt: $20.3 billion
> Debt-to-equity ratio: 0.47
> Annual revenue: $49.3 billion
> Industry: Technology
35. Exxon Mobil (NYSE: XOM)
> Long-term debt: $20.5 billion
> Debt-to-equity ratio: 0.10
> Annual revenue: $290.2 billion
> Industry: Energy
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34. Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG)
> Long-term debt: $20.9 billion
> Debt-to-equity ratio: 0.39
> Annual revenue: $66.8 billion
> Industry: Household products
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33. American Airlines Group (NASDAQ: AAL)
> Long-term debt: $21.2 billion
> Debt-to-equity ratio: -125.32
> Annual revenue: $44.5 billion
> Industry: Airlines
32. Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN)
> Long-term debt: $23.5 billion
> Debt-to-equity ratio: 0.54
> Annual revenue: $232.9 billion
> Industry: Online retail
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31. Enterprise Products Partners (NYSE: EPD)
> Long-term debt: $24.7 billion
> Debt-to-equity ratio: 1.02
> Annual revenue: $36.5 billion
> Industry: Energy
30. Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT)
> Long-term debt: $25.0 billion
> Debt-to-equity ratio: 1.78
> Annual revenue: $54.7 billion
> Industry: Construction
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29. Intel (NASDAQ: INTC)
> Long-term debt: $25.1 billion
> Debt-to-equity ratio: 0.34
> Annual revenue: $70.8 billion
> Industry: Technology
28. Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO)
> Long-term debt: $25.4 billion
> Debt-to-equity ratio: 1.33
> Annual revenue: $31.9 billion
> Industry: Beverages
27. NextEra Energy (NYSE: NEE)
> Long-term debt: $26.8 billion
> Debt-to-equity ratio: 0.72
> Annual revenue: $16.7 billion
> Industry: Utilities
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26. Home Depot (NYSE: HD)
> Long-term debt: $26.8 billion
> Debt-to-equity ratio: -14.27
> Annual revenue: $108.2 billion
> Industry: Specialty retail
25. PepsiCo (NASDAQ: PEP)
> Long-term debt: $28.3 billion
> Debt-to-equity ratio: 1.94
> Annual revenue: $64.7 billion
> Industry: Beverages
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24. Chevron (NYSE: CVX)
> Long-term debt: $28.7 billion
> Debt-to-equity ratio: 0.18
> Annual revenue: $166.3 billion
> Industry: Energy
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23. Amgen (NASDAQ: AMGN)
> Long-term debt: $29.5 billion
> Debt-to-equity ratio: 2.36
> Annual revenue: $23.7 billion
> Industry: Pharmaceuticals
22. McDonald’s (NYSE: MCD)
> Long-term debt: $31.1 billion
> Debt-to-equity ratio: -4.97
> Annual revenue: $21.0 billion
> Industry: Food services
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21. HCA Healthcare (NYSE: HCA)
> Long-term debt: $32.0 billion
> Debt-to-equity ratio: -10.98
> Annual revenue: $46.7 billion
> Industry: Health care
20. Pfizer (NYSE: PFE)
> Long-term debt: $32.9 billion
> Debt-to-equity ratio: 0.52
> Annual revenue: $53.6 billion
> Industry: Pharmaceuticals
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19. Kinder Morgan (NYSE: KMI)
> Long-term debt: $33.9 billion
> Debt-to-equity ratio: 0.98
> Annual revenue: $14.1 billion
> Industry: Energy
18. Exelon (NYSE: EXC)
> Long-term debt: $34.1 billion
> Debt-to-equity ratio: 1.11
> Annual revenue: $36.0 billion
> Industry: Utilities
17. UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH)
> Long-term debt: $34.6 billion
> Debt-to-equity ratio: 0.64
> Annual revenue: $226.2 billion
> Industry: Health care
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16. IBM (NYSE: IBM)
> Long-term debt: $35.6 billion
> Debt-to-equity ratio: 2.10
> Annual revenue: $79.6 billion
> Industry: Technology
15. DowDuPont (NYSE: DD)
> Long-term debt: $37.7 billion
> Debt-to-equity ratio: 0.39
> Annual revenue: $86.0 billion
> Industry: Chemicals
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14. United Technologies (NYSE: UTX)
> Long-term debt: $41.2 billion
> Debt-to-equity ratio: 1.01
> Annual revenue: $66.5 billion
> Industry: Aerospace & defense
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13. Dell Technologies (NYSE: DELL)
> Long-term debt: $49.2 billion
> Debt-to-equity ratio: -52.23
> Annual revenue: $90.6 billion
> Industry: Technology
12. Walmart (NYSE: WMT)
> Long-term debt: $50.2 billion
> Debt-to-equity ratio: 0.63
> Annual revenue: $514.4 billion
> Industry: Retail
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11. Oracle (NYSE: ORCL)
> Long-term debt: $51.7 billion
> Debt-to-equity ratio: 2.31
> Annual revenue: $39.5 billion
> Industry: Technology
10. Charter Communications (NASDAQ: CHTR)
> Long-term debt: $69.5 billion
> Debt-to-equity ratio: 1.57
> Annual revenue: $43.6 billion
> Industry: Telecommunications
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9. CVS Health (NYSE: CVS)
> Long-term debt: $71.4 billion
> Debt-to-equity ratio: 1.22
> Annual revenue: $194.6 billion
> Industry: Health care
8. Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT)
> Long-term debt: $72.2 billion
> Debt-to-equity ratio: 0.87
> Annual revenue: $110.4 billion
> Industry: Technology
7. General Motors (NYSE: GM)
> Long-term debt: $73.1 billion
> Debt-to-equity ratio: 1.71
> Annual revenue: $147.0 billion
> Industry: Motor vehicles & parts
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6. Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL)
> Long-term debt: $93.7 billion
> Debt-to-equity ratio: 0.87
> Annual revenue: $265.6 billion
> Industry: Technology
5. General Electric (NYSE: GE)
> Long-term debt: $95.2 billion
> Debt-to-equity ratio: 8.35
> Annual revenue: $121.6 billion
> Industry: Industrials
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4. Ford Motor (NYSE: F)
> Long-term debt: $100.7 billion
> Debt-to-equity ratio: 2.80
> Annual revenue: $160.3 billion
> Industry: Motor vehicles & parts
3. Verizon (NYSE: VZ)
> Long-term debt: $105.9 billion
> Debt-to-equity ratio: 1.94
> Annual revenue: $130.9 billion
> Industry: Telecommunications
2. Comcast (NASDAQ: CMCSA)
> Long-term debt: $107.3 billion
> Debt-to-equity ratio: 2.29
> Annual revenue: $94.5 billion
> Industry: Telecommunications
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1. AT&T (NYSE: T)
> Long-term debt: $166.3 billion
> Debt-to-equity ratio: 0.86
> Annual revenue: $170.8 billion
> Industry: Telecommunications
Detailed Findings
Borrowing habits vary by sector. Capital-intensive industries like energy and utilities often need to borrow to fuel growth. Technology companies like Apple, on the other hand, may need to borrow in order to pay dividends to shareholders even as the bulk of their cash sits in tax havens overseas.
Of the 40 companies with the biggest corporate debt loads, seven are in the technology sector, four in utilities, four in energy, and four in telecommunications. Many of the tech companies on this list are also among the world’s 50 most innovative companies, and many of the industries represented by the most debt-laden companies also operate within America’s 25 thriving industries.
Borrowing activity can influence stock price. Four companies with the biggest debt loads were also among the nine companies that turned their fortunes around in 2018 — companies that had some of the biggest upswings in stock price over the past year. One factor relevant to investors looking at debt-laden companies is the debt-to-equity ratio — the ratio of long-term debt to shareholder equity that measures a company’s ability to cover outstanding debts. Companies with the highest debt-to-equity ratios on this list include General Electric, UPS, and Ford Motor.
Methodology
To determine the companies with the biggest corporate debt, 24/7 Wall St. analyzed the long-term debt of non-financial companies in the Fortune 500 with data from SEC 10-K filings. The debt-to-equity ratio and annual revenue for each company also came from SEC filings. All data is for the most recent fiscal year.
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