Delisted Companies

Global Crossing was delisted on the day following its bankruptcy filing, Enron was delisted after 30 trading days, while Owens Corning traded for more than 2 years after its bankruptcy filing. Conversely, 4 of the 19 firms the NYSE delisted for bankruptcy never actually went bankrupt; these firms were delisted after they announced the possibility of a bankruptcy filing.

[Another] example of exchange indifference to enforcing delisting rules is demonstrated by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Freddie Mac has not filed financial statements in almost two years. [...] Can a company be listed on the New York Stock Exchange if it doesn’t have current financial statements? Apparently, for some firms, the answer is yes.

Source: Fred Piard. Quantitative Investing: Strategies to exploit stock market anomalies for all investors. Harriman House Limited, 2013. [B103]

Our research shows that when the NYSE issues a delisting determination, 85%-90% of the time, the effect is immediate, regardless of a possible appeal. By contrast, the NASDAQ and AMEX are much more lenient, and generally wait until the companies' appeals are exhausted (with some exceptions, like WINT).

NYSE Stocks That Kept Trading Despite Bankruptcy (non-exhaustive list)

• YGE

• KDE

• VRS (2013)

• LTM

• HTZ

• GNC

• HHS (the company was delisted later anyway)

• PSV

• DEXO