Part 2/9:
The Rise of Zombie Companies
Data reveals that the number of business bankruptcies in the U.S. has risen by over 70% in the past two years, contributing to the highest corporate delinquency rates seen in eight years. According to Vincenzo Basato, a partner at Kearney who studies zombie companies, the phenomenon has seen growth. In 2010, fewer than 2% of publicly traded companies were classified as zombies; today, that figure hovers around 6%. In 2023 alone, Kearney identified 127 new zombie companies, bringing the worldwide total to almost 2,500, with the real estate and manufacturing sectors leading the charge.