Jul 2026· Journal of Risk and Financial Management· Vol 19, pp. 539· 0 citations· 30 references
Abstract
How the maturity structure of corporate debt shapes firms’ capacity to withstand financial pressure remains understudied, particularly in bank-dependent emerging markets. This study examines whether greater reliance on short-term debt weakens firms’ ability to absorb financial shocks. Using quarterly panel data for non-financial listed firms on the Vietnamese stock market from 2015 to 2025, we construct an accounting-based measure of financial resilience (FR), defined as the ratio of earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) to the sum of short-term debt and interest expense, and measure debt maturity structure (DMS) as the proportion of short-term debt in total interest-bearing debt. Firm fixed-effects models with quarterly time fixed effects and firm-clustered standard errors are used to estimate the relationship. The results consistently show that firms with a higher proportion of short-term interest-bearing debt exhibit significantly lower financial resilience across all model specifications. This negative relationship remains robust after controlling for alternative measures of financial leverage and using a logarithmic transformation of the dependent variable. The findings highlight the importance of debt maturity management as a key component of corporate financing strategy for firms and policymakers seeking to enhance financial resilience.
Listed electricity firms in Vietnam often face a timing problem in financing. The assets they build and operate last for many years, but part of the debt used to finance them may mature much earlier. This study examines whether that maturity gap, together with interest-bearing leverage and operating cash flow, is associated with short-term financial vulnerability. The analysis uses 31 electricity firms listed on HOSE and HNX during 2016–2025, giving an unbalanced panel of 295 firm-year observations. Model estimation relies on firm fixed effects, year controls, and clustered standard errors. The dependent variable for short-term vulnerability is the current ratio; accordingly, a lower ratio explicitly indicates greater vulnerability. Market-based and book-based Z-scores are applied for robustness checks. The estimates show that higher maturity mismatch is associated with a lower current ratio. The interaction with operating cash flow is not statistically supported. Interest-bearing leverage appears more clearly in the two Z-score robustness models, rather than in the current-ratio models. The lagged specification does not show that these effects persist beyond the current period. Therefore, assessing financial vulnerability in the electricity sector requires analytical separation of debt maturity timing from the aggregate debt stock.
Nhung Thi Hong Pham, Tu Anh Nguyen, Ngoc Thi Bui et al.· The Economics and Finance Le...· 0 citations
This study investigates The Impact of Debt Structure on Corporate Financial Performance,
evidence from Nigerian Banks using panel data from five selected deposit money banks over a tenyear period (2009–2018). The study aims to assess how different forms of debt—Short-Term Debt
to Total Assets (SDTA) and Long-Term Debt to Total Assets (LDTA)—affect financial
performance, measured by Return on Assets (ROA). Descriptive statistics reveal that Nigerian
banks are highly leveraged with short-term debt, averaging 76.4%, while long-term debt accounts
for just 9% of total assets. The regression model was estimated using fixed effects, guided by the
Hausman specification test. The regression results show that both SDTA (β = 0.5264, p = 0.7850)
and LDTA (β = 0.0388, p = 0.5882) have positive but statistically insignificant effects on ROA.
The model exhibits good explanatory power with an R-squared of 0.7766 and an F-statistic of
4.8681 (p = 0.0039), indicating overall model significance. These findings suggest that while
Nigerian banks rely heavily on short-term debt financing, neither short-term nor long-term debt
significantly influences profitability. Based on the findings, the study recommends that bank
managers and shareholders critically evaluate their debt composition, focusing on costeffectiveness and strategic alignment. The study also encourages investors to consider the debt
structure of banks as a factor influencing expected returns. Overall, the results challenge
conventional theories suggesting a strong link between capital structure and performance,
indicating that in the Nigerian banking context, other variables may play more dominant roles in
shaping profitability.
Uchechi Boneri Saborogha· IIARD INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL...· 0 citations
This study examines the relationship between profitability, leverage, firm size, liquidity, and firm value among consumer non-cyclicals companies listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange. A quantitative explanatory design was applied using a balanced panel of 40 firm-year observations from eight issuers over the fiscal years 2021–2025. Firm value was measured by price-to-book value, profitability by return on assets, leverage by debt-to-equity ratio, firm size by the natural logarithm of total assets, and liquidity by the current ratio. The data were compiled from publicly available financial ratio and balance sheet information. The empirical model was estimated using pooled ordinary least squares with HC3 robust standard errors, supported by descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, diagnostic testing, and sensitivity estimation. The results show that profitability has a positive and statistically significant association with firm value, while liquidity has a negative and statistically significant association. Leverage and firm size do not show statistically significant effects in the primary model. The model reports an R-squared value of 0.872 and an adjusted R-squared value of 0.857. The findings suggest that market valuation in the sampled companies is more closely associated with earnings-generating capability than with asset scale. The negative liquidity result indicates that high current assets may not be valued positively when they are not linked to stronger profitability or efficient working capital use.
Mita Audia Rahman, H. Putra, Muhammad Miqdad· Journal of global economics,...· 0 citations
The relationship between capital structure and firm market valuation remains a central yet unresolved question in corporate finance, with outcomes shaped critically by industry-specific asset structures and financing environments. This study investigates how capital structure influences market valuations across two structurally divergent sectors in India, the asset-light information technology (IT) industry and the asset-intensive automobile industry, using balanced panel data for 14 firms in each sector over 2005–2024. Fixed effect and random effect panel regression models are employed to isolate the direct effect of leverage on earnings per share (EPS), with model selection determined by the Hausman specification test. Complementing these estimations, the Graphical Lasso is applied to recover a sparse conditional dependence network among key financial variables, an approach particularly suited to this research question, as capital structure, profitability, tangibility, and growth are jointly determined, rendering pairwise correlations insufficient for identifying genuine financial linkages. The findings establish that debt exerts a positive and statistically significant effect on market valuations in both sectors, but through distinct economic channels: moderate leverage amplifies profitable growth signals in IT firms, while tax shield benefits drive valuation in automobile firms, constrained by asset tangibility and debt-servicing thresholds. These results support trade-off theory in the automobile sector and pecking order logic in the IT sector, underscoring that sector-specific financing strategies yield superior valuation outcomes compared to universally applied capital structure prescriptions.
Purpose: This study examines the associations of Return on Assets (ROA), Debt-to-Equity Ratio (DER), and Current Ratio (CR) with firm value and evaluates whether firm size moderates these relationships among Indonesian industrial companies.
Research Method: The study uses a quantitative short-panel design comprising 110 firm-year observations from 55 industrial companies listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange during 2023–2024. Firm value is measured using Price-to-Book Value. The revised analysis requires panel regression with centered interaction terms, firm and year effects, relevant controls, influence diagnostics, sensitivity analysis, and firm-clustered robust standard errors.
Results and Discussion: Preliminary ordinary-regression estimates indicate positive associations of ROA, DER, and CR with firm value but provide no evidence that firm size moderates these relationships. These findings remain subject to confirmation using the revised panel specification.
Implications: Managers should improve asset efficiency, maintain sustainable leverage, and manage liquidity productively. Investors should assess financial quality and risk rather than relying solely on corporate scale.
Originality: The study evaluates firm size as a boundary condition linking financial ratios to the market valuation of Indonesian industrial companies.
Anti Hastuti Ump, Fuad Ramdhan Ryanto· Advances in Economics &...· 0 citations
This study examines the moderating role of liquidity in the relationship between extreme capital structure and firm performance among listed firms in emerging markets. It is motivated by the need to better understand how financing constraints and liquidity management influence firm performance in environments characterised by high financial frictions and limited access to external capital. Extreme capital structure is defined as firms maintaining very low levels of debt, measured using thresholds of 1% (ultra-low debt) and 5% for both long-term debt and total debt. The analysis is based on a panel dataset of non-financial listed firms over the period 2006–2024 and employs a dynamic panel System Generalised Method of Moments (System GMM) complemented by a Random Effects model for robustness. Empirical results indicate that liquidity has a meaningful and predominantly positive moderating effect. This is observed when firms maintain extremely low long-term debt (1% threshold) and low long-term debt (5% threshold). Liquidity enhances firm performance. This effect is strongest for return on assets (ROA) and return on equity (ROE). The effect on Tobin’s Q is weaker but remains generally positive. These findings highlight the strategic importance of liquidity in improving profitability and financial resilience under conservative financing structures. However, the findings are limited to listed non-financial firms in emerging markets and may not be generalizable to SMEs or unlisted firms. Future research could explore the threshold at which liquidity ceases to generate benefits or begins to produce diminishing returns in ultra-low leverage contexts.
Owen Ncube, G. Marozva· International Journal of Fin...· 0 citations
