Blog Post
Delaware losing its grip on Chapter 11?
Last week Octus published its First Day Midyear Review, a set of insights on trends and developments across the bankruptcy landscape.
Delaware is losing its grip on the largest chapter 11 filings. Its share of billion-dollar cases fell from 40% in 2024 to 23% in 2025, then to 7% in the first half of 2026. In the $100 million to $1 billion range, Delaware’s share dropped from 44% in 2025 to 28% in H1’26.
New Jersey has taken the number two spot behind the Southern District of Texas for the period’s largest filings, eclipsing Delaware and the Southern District of New York combined. Among smaller and mid-range cases, the share filed outside the historic top five districts is at an all-time high.
Freefall rates split sharply by size in the first half. Filers with liabilities between $100 million and $1 billion ran well above historical averages, while the rate for $1 billion-plus filers hit its lowest point in six years.
Distress factors show the same divide. Tariffs, barely a consideration two years ago, now rank as the most frequently cited factor among $1 billion-plus filers, ahead of debt service, looming maturities and industry decline. For the $100 million to $1 billion cohort, liquidity shortfalls, industry decline and inflationary pressures led.
Scale gives the largest filers runway to absorb pressures like inflation, which barely registered for this group. Global footprints and exposure to international trade leave them facing a different threat as tariffs escalate.
The Octus First Day team will publish the 2026 Year in Review shortly after year-end.
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