Capital Structure across Industries

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to examine the capital structure across different industries for companies quoted on a stock exchange and headquartered in the United States. The paper demonstrates significant difference in the capital structure depending on the industry where the company operates. The debt ratio sensitivities to the explanatory variables differ significantly between the five industries studied. Almost every significant coefficient obtained in our regressions is in accordance with capital structure theory and other studies. Debt ratio is negatively related to profitability, growth, and age, while asset structure and company size are positively related. However, the debt ratio of the 50 largest companies in the sample is negatively related to company size, which gives support to a currency hedging hypothesis.

Keywords: Capital Structure; Static Trade-off; Pecking Order; Industry Effects

JEL Classification: G32