List of most indebted companies
The following article lists the indebted companies in the world by total corporate debt according estimates by the British-Australian investment firm Janus Henderson. In 2019, the total debt of the 900 most indebted companies was $8,325 billion. The most indebted companies were in the oil and gas, utilities, telecommunication and automotive industries.[1] The world's most indebted company in 2021 was Toyota.[2]
The most indebted company in history [3] was General Electric, holding in 2008 $550 billion of debt.
2023/24 Top 20
The 20 companies with the highest debt in 2023/24.[4]
2021 Top 20
The 20 companies with the highest debt in 2021.[4]
| Rank | Company | Country | Debt (billions of US$) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Toyota | Japan | 186 |
| 2 | Volkswagen AG | Germany | 185 |
| 3 | AT&T | United States | 182 |
| 4 | Verizon Communications | United States | 174 |
| 5 | Deutsche Telekom AG | Germany | 153 |
| 6 | Mercedes-Benz Group AG | Germany | 109 |
| 7 | Électricité de France SA | France | 104 |
| 8 | Comcast | United States | 98 |
| 9 | BMW | Germany | 96 |
| 10 | Charter Communications | United States | 92 |
| 11 | Ford Motor Company | United States | 90 |
| 12 | General Motors | United States | 79 |
| 13 | Anheuser-Busch and In-Bev | Belgium | 76 |
| 14 | Enel SpA | Italy | 72 |
| 15 | Duke Energy | United States | 68 |
| 16 | AbbVie, Inc. | United States | 68 |
| 17 | Korea Electric Power | South Korea | 68 |
| 18 | Nippon Telegraph and Telephone | Japan | 67 |
| 19 | Hyundai | South Korea | 65 |
| 20 | Vodafone | United Kingdom | 62 |
2019 Top 20
The 20 companies with the highest debt in 2019.[1]
| Rank | Company | Country | Debt (billions of US$) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Volkswagen AG | Germany | 192 |
| 2 | AT&T | United States | 176 |
| 3 | Daimler AG | Germany | 151 |
| 4 | Toyota | Japan | 138 |
| 5 | SoftBank Group | Japan | 135 |
| 6 | Verizon Communications | United States | 129 |
| 7 | Ford Motor Company | United States | 122 |
| 8 | BMW | Germany | 114 |
| 9 | Comcast | United States | 104 |
| 10 | Anheuser-Busch and InBev | Belgium | 96 |
| 11 | Deutsche Telekom | Germany | 87 |
| 12 | CVS Health | United States | 81 |
| 13 | Petrobras | Brazil | 79 |
| 14 | Royal Dutch Shell | Netherlands | 78 |
| 15 | General Motors | United States | 78 |
| 16 | Charter Communications | United States | 77 |
| 17 | PetroChina | China | 76 |
| 18 | Walmart | United States | 63 |
| 19 | Duke Energy | United States | 62 |
| 20 | Korea Electric Power Corporation | South Korea | 60 |
2016 Top 20
The 20 companies with the highest debt in 2016.[1]
| Rank | Company | Country | Debt (billions of US$) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | AT&T | United States | 139 |
| 2 | Volkswagen AG | Germany | 136 |
| 3 | Verizon Communications | United States | 126 |
| 4 | Toyota | Japan | 119 |
| 5 | Anheuser-Busch and InBev | Belgium | 107 |
| 6 | Daimler AG | Germany | 104 |
| 7 | Ford Motor Company | United States | 104 |
| 8 | Petrobras | Brazil | 95 |
| 9 | BMW | Germany | 95 |
| 10 | General Electric | United States | 91 |
| 11 | Royal Dutch Shell | Netherlands | 89 |
| 12 | SoftBank Group | Japan | 82 |
| 13 | PetroChina | China | 81 |
| 14 | Deutsche Telekom | Germany | 76 |
| 15 | Telefónica | Spain | 69 |
| 16 | Charter Communications | United States | 61 |
| 17 | Walmart | United States | 58 |
| 18 | General Motors | United States | 58 |
| 19 | Comcast | United States | 58 |
| 20 | Électricité de France | France | 57 |
2014 Top 20
The 20 companies with the highest debt in 2014.[1]
| Rank | Company | Country | Debt (billions of US$) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | General Electric | United States | 278 |
| 2 | Volkswagen AG | Germany | 134 |
| 3 | Verizon Communications | United States | 123 |
| 4 | Toyota | Japan | 115 |
| 5 | Petrobras | Brazil | 105 |
| 6 | PetroChina | China | 96 |
| 7 | AT&T | United States | 93 |
| 8 | Daimler AG | Germany | 90 |
| 9 | Ford Motor Company | United States | 88 |
| 10 | BMW | Germany | 84 |
| 11 | Deutsche Telekom | Germany | 79 |
| 12 | Telefónica | Spain | 73 |
| 13 | Sinopec | China | 71 |
| 14 | SoftBank Group | Japan | 70 |
| 15 | Walmart | United States | 66 |
| 16 | Korea Electric Power Corporation | South Korea | 57 |
| 17 | Mitsubishi Corporation | Japan | 55 |
| 18 | Électricité de France | France | 53 |
| 19 | Rosneft | Russia | 50 |
| 20 | Orange S.A. | France | 48 |
See also
- List of largest companies by revenue
- List of largest employers
- List of largest corporate profits and losses
- List of public corporations by market capitalization
- List of most valuable brands
References
- ^ a b c d "Janus Henderson Corporate Debt Index Edition 1" (PDF). Janus Henderson.
- ^ "VW Becomes The World's Most Indebted Company, Owes More Than South Africa!". Carscoops. 2020-07-17. Retrieved 2021-07-04.
- ^ Mohamed, Theron. "Warren Buffett's $3 billion investment in General Electric saved the industrial titan from a catastrophic meltdown, a new book reveals". Markets Insider. Retrieved 2025-10-22.
- ^ a b Henderson, Janus (March 4, 2025). "JANUS HENDERSON CORPORATE DEBT INDEX, Edition 5" (PDF). Janus Henderson. Retrieved February 23, 2023.