IMPLEMENTING THE DEBT FINANCING STRATEGY OF PUBLIC COMPANIES UNDER MACROECONOMIC INSTABILITY

Abstract

The paper substantiates the principles and practical mechanisms for implementing a debt financing strategy for public companies under conditions of heightened macroeconomic instability in 2026. Attention is paid to the way in which the energy shock caused by the armed conflict in the Middle East changed the expected path of interest rates in major economies and increased uncertainty in global capital markets. These developments transformed corporate debt management from a largely technical issue of capital-structure optimisation into an important component of financial resilience, liquidity protection, and long-term solvency. The study is based on the analysis and synthesis of open data and analytical materials published by the IMF, the Federal Reserve, the European Central Bank, and the OECD. The findings show that in 2025-2026 public companies operated not in an environment of an absolute shortage of capital, but rather in a period of its substantial repricing. The main constraints were associated with the persistently high baseline cost of financing, stronger differentiation of borrowing costs according to credit quality, tighter lending conditions, and the approaching refinancing cycle for a significant volume of previously issued low-cost debt. Under these circumstances, the key risk shifted from access to financing itself to the ability of companies to refinance existing obligations without a sharp deterioration in interest coverage and cash flow stability. The paper argues that an effective debt financing strategy should combine proactive management of the maturity profile, diversification of funding sources, control over the share of fixed- and floating-rate liabilities, preservation of credit quality, and maintenance of an adequate liquidity buffer. Paper systematises the main principles of debt strategy implementation in the context of the 2026 reversal of the monetary cycle and highlights the growing importance of early refinancing decisions and scenario-based financial planning. The practical significance of the results lies in their potential use for improving corporate financial policies related to leverage, debt servicing, refinancing risk, and liquidity management. Further research should examine how these strategic principles differ across industries and between international and national capital markets.