Stay away, soothsayers.
Accounting-risks watcher Audit Integrity has put out a list of the companies that are most likely to file for bankruptcy protection over the next 12 months.
Rite Aid
Sirius XM Radio
The notion that it will is ludicrous, on many different levels:
- Sirius XM may have been teetering on the brink of fiscal collapse earlier this year, but a timely Liberty Media
(NASDAQ:LCAPA) cash infusion slayed those demons. Yes, Liberty Media is also on Audit Integrity's top 10 list -- with a 5.6% probability of buckling -- but Sirius XM already has the money. - The satellite-radio giant recently extended looming debt maturities and has replaced debt with borrowings at more attractive rates.
- Sirius XM has been inching its cash-flow guidance higher throughout the year.
Even Audit Integrity concedes that Sirius XM's position isn't as grave as it was earlier this year. Its quarterly Accounting and Governance Risk score has gone from the lowest 1% rating after Sirius XM's first quarter to 6% following the second quarter. Being in the sixth percentile still tags Sirius XM as "very aggressive," but the trend is improving.
It's important to point out that Rite Aid, Sirius, and bronze medalist AMR
Some of the names on the list may fail, but it's hard to fathom that a company that's turned the corner, such as Sirius XM has -- with losses narrowing and cash flow prospects improving -- will head to bankruptcy court anytime soon.