The Financial Characteristics of Large and Small Firms Before and After the 2008 Stock Market Crash

The financial crisis of 2008, and the associated bear market lasting from October 2007 to March 2009, has had a significant impact on a broad cross section of firms in the global economy. Of particular interest to us in this study is the effect of this time period on the financial characteristics of firms, with extra focus on debt-related ratios. Using a large sample of U.S. firms from the COMPUSTAT database, we find that firms, on average, come out of the financial crisis with less insolvency and bankruptcy risk, more efficient asset utilization, and more attractive market valuations.