Read what professors at Harvard Business School think led to General Motors' 2009 bankruptcy.

Detroit, Michigan, began as a fur trading post in the 1700s but would become the world epicenter of car manufacturing in the 1900s after Henry Ford developed his paradigm-shifting assembly line at a plant there. Racial tensions, a lack of economic diversification, and poor leadership would plunge the city into poverty and decay in the late 1900s, culminating in a 2014 bankruptcy. Browse the somber images of the city's abandoned spaces here.

Nearly all of its 26,000 employees immediately lost their jobs. But in London, a few hundred remained tucked away, working for another decade to wind down the bank’s European business.

This documentary argues that GM systematically bought up and destroyed streetcar networks across the US in the 1930s, replacing them with buses and helping put the automobile at the center of American culture.

At its peak, Sears was the largest retailer in the world, making elite objects accessible to the middle class. But in 2018, the company officially filed for bankruptcy due to massive debt and losses.

In the wake of the 2008 global financial crisis, hedge funds began placing short positions on German automaker Volkswagen. Around the same time, Porsche began acquiring a majority stake in Volkswagen, which decreased the amount of available shares, or the "stock float." Porsche then announced that it owned more than 74% of the company, prompting short sellers to realize they had placed more short positions than were logistically possible given that less than 6% of the company's shares were available to trade. In what is largely recognized as the biggest short squeeze in history, Porsche made $10B, and hedge funds lost more than $30B.

Although the retailer may have failed financially speaking, some argue that longevity in itself is a success—the brand operated for over 130 years before that bankruptcy filing, after all.

General Electric, the last surviving original Dow component, was dropped in 2018, after years of decline. Its exit symbolized the fading dominance of industrial giants and the index’s shift toward technology and healthcare.

Chapter 7 is for liquidating personal assets to clear debts, Chapter 13 allows a repayment plan for individuals, and Chapter 11 lets businesses reorganize to stay afloat.

In 1787, this founding document gave Congress the right to establish nationwide bankruptcy laws. Legislators took advantage of that power in 1800 when they passed the Bankruptcy Act of 1800, the first comprehensive bankruptcy law at the federal level.

The Dow’s lineup evolves as the economy changes. General Electric, part of the original 1896 index, was removed in 2018, after 122 years. ExxonMobil, once the world’s largest company, was replaced by Salesforce in 2020.

After buying bulks of its stock, Buffett then flipped Berkshire Hathaway into the most successful and largest holding company in the world, which owns companies like Geico, Duracell, and Fruit of the Loom.

After being acquired by two private equity firms and a real estate company for more than $6B in 2005, Toys 'R' Us filed for bankruptcy in 2017. Many point to the $400M a year the company had to pay to service its debt, as well as increased competition from online retailers like Amazon, for draining its profits and ultimately dragging it under.

The company employed a disruptive strategy to transform the transportation market, but early struggles, including leadership shifts and near bankruptcy in 2008, threatened its efforts to bring electric vehicles to the mainstream.

The one-time battery company eclipsed Tesla in total sales in 2024. The Chinese-backed manufacturer targets low- to mid-tier cars and builds 75% of its components in-house. Its cars typically retail at half the cost of similar Tesla models.

Chinese automaker BYD saw nearly three times as many registrations of electric vehicles as Tesla through the sales of its plug-in hybrid and battery electric vehicles. Fellow Chinese competitor Geely sold 12.7% of all BEVs worldwide, surpassing Tesla's 12.4% share during the same period.

Before founding the Ford Motor Company, Henry Ford started two businesses that ultimately failed because he didn't get a product to market quickly enough. The Henry Ford Company pushed Henry Ford out in 1902, only to later reform and be renamed after the founder of Detroit, Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac.

In the past five years, the share of people buying cars above $50K has increased by several-fold. Car prices have significantly increased overall in recent years.

There’s no shortage of potential culprits for Sears’ death, from hedge fund manager Eddie Lampert, to Amazon, to the 2008 stock market crash.

Golden Gate Capital, a PE firm, bought Red Lobster in 2014 for $2.1B. Golden Gate then sold Red Lobster's real estate, more than 500 storefronts, which generated $1.5B in revenue and helped finance the PE firm's acquisition of the company. Analysts say increased debt, high rent costs, and low equity put Red Lobster in an impossible position, leading to its 2024 bankruptcy filing—although the shrimp bill probably didn't help.

Publicly traded companies don’t file for bankruptcy out of nowhere—there are typically warning signs in a stock’s performance, quarterly earnings calls, and US Securities and Exchange Commission filings.

Warren Buffett's holding company, Berkshire Hathaway, has one of the highest-valued stocks in history due to its collection of successful companies. As of 2024, Berkshire owned companies including Dairy Queen and GEICO.

However, there are actually six types in practice today. These less-common options can be lifelines for foreign businesses operating in the US, local governments, and farms and fisheries.

While there are multiple types of bankruptcies, Chapter 11 is probably the one you've heard about the most. Technically speaking, Chapter 11 bankruptcy involves a reorganization of a business's assets and debts under court supervision. Companies such as Red Lobster, WeWork, and Party City have all filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in recent years. Learn more about it here.

As of 2023, the company has 40% of the electric vehicle market in China and produces more than 3 million EVs for customers worldwide. Its vertical integration, which includes building its own batteries and cargo ships, has allowed BYD to lower retail costs.