Angie · learn
Liquidation order
Who gets paid when a company fails: secured creditors, then unsecured, then subordinated debt, then preferred, then common. Shareholders are last and usually get nothing.
Updated 2026-09-05
If a company is wound up, the order of payment is fixed and it is not negotiable: secured creditors, then unsecured creditors, then subordinated debt, then preferred stock, then common stock.
Common shareholders are last, and in most bankruptcies there is nothing left by the time the queue reaches them. This is the structural reason equity returns more than debt over time: you are compensated for standing at the back.
See also
- Stock — A unit of ownership in a company. It carries a vote, a claim on whatever is left after everyone else is paid, and no promise of anything.
- Preferred stock — A share with a fixed dividend and priority over common stock, usually without a vote. It behaves more like a bond than like equity.
- Bond — A loan to a company or government, repaid on a fixed schedule with interest. You are a creditor, not an owner, and you get paid before shareholders.
- Net debt — Positive means a net borrower, negative means net cash. Subtracted from enterprise value to reach what shareholders own.
Educational content, not investment advice. Angie explains how a valuation is built so you can judge it yourself. What you do with that is your call.
