The effect of debt on corporate profitability Evidence from French service sector

Current study aims to provide new empirical evidence on the impact of debt on corporate profitability. This impact can be explained by three essential theories: signaling theory, tax theory and the agency cost theory. Using panel data sample of 2240 French non listed companies of service sector during 1999-2006. By utilizing generalized method of moments (GMM) econometric technique on three measures of profitability ratio (PROF1, PROF2 and ROA), we show that debt ratio has no effect on corporate profitability, regardless of the size of company (VSEs, SMEs or LEs).

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Additional Info

Field Value
Source https://shs.hal.science/halshs-00825178
Author Kebewar, Mazen, Shah Syed Muhammad Noaman, Ahmed
Maintainer CCSD
Last Updated May 11, 2026, 01:17 (UTC)
Created May 11, 2026, 01:17 (UTC)
Identifier halshs-00825178
Language en
Rights https://about.hal.science/hal-authorisation-v1/
contributor Laboratoire d'Économie d'Orleans [UMR7322] (LEO) ; Université d'Orléans (UO)-Université de Tours (UT)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)
creator Kebewar, Mazen
date 2013-03-05T00:00:00
harvest_object_id a794df01-dbde-465a-bee6-235587e16dae
harvest_source_id 3374d638-d20b-4672-ba96-a23232d55657
harvest_source_title test moissonnage SELUNE
metadata_modified 2025-07-16T00:00:00
set_spec type:UNDEFINED