Brazil’s Corporate Defaults Hit a Record: 8.4 Million Companies With Overdue Debts

Key Points

• Serasa counted 8.4 million companies with overdue debts in September 2025, the highest on record.
• Overdue liabilities topped R$200 billion ($37 billion), with services and retail carrying most flags.
• With rates high and lenders stricter, small firms face a cash-flow squeeze that can spill into jobs.

Brazil just posted a record that rarely makes headlines abroad. Serasa Experian says 8.4 million corporate tax IDs were “negative” in September 2025.

That means at least one bill went unpaid and was formally registered as overdue. The stock of overdue debts exceeded R$200 billion ($37 billion).

Behind the headline is a fragile business base. About 7.95 million of the delinquent firms were micro, small, or mid-sized.

Around 20% were MEIs, Brazil’s individual micro-entrepreneurs. Many are one-person operations.

They live on weekly sales and short supplier terms. When a payment slips, credit dries up fast.

The average overdue balance per company reached R$24,074.50 ($4,458). That was 9.5% higher than a year earlier.

Brazil’s Corporate Defaults Hit a Record: 8.4 Million Companies With Overdue Debts

The typical overdue bill was R$3,331.30 ($618). Those numbers look small next to big-company finance.

They are large for a neighborhood service shop. They can decide whether rent gets paid.

Services dominated the distress. They represented 54.7% of negative registrations. Commerce followed with 33.2%.

By the type of overdue debt, services still led at 32.1%. Bank and card obligations came next at 19.5%.

The Southeast held about 4.5 million delinquent CNPJs. The South had 1.3 million. The Northeast had 1.2 million. The Center-West had 729,000. The North had 499,000.

Serasa’s chief economist ties the surge to expensive money and tighter credit. After rapid lending growth in 2024, risk screens hardened in 2025.

Brazil’s policy rate has been held at 15%. In October, banking delinquency over 90 days hit 4.0%. Corporate “free credit” delinquency rose to 3.3%.

The deeper story is confidence. Small firms need stable rules and predictable costs. When policy feels improvised, lenders charge more and shorten terms.

Online, the record has spread with renegotiation pushes. Serasa has promoted deals advertising discounts up to 99%.