En kvantitativ studie om hur kapitalstrukturen för fastighetsbolag i Sverige påverkas av en låg- respektive högkonjunktur

Sammanfattning: For a significant amount of time, companies have relied on both external and internal capital to finance their operations. In this process, prioritization plays a pivotal role. When facing difficulties for internal capital, companies opt to seek external capital in terms of debt financing. Consequently, companies must thoroughly consider the formation of their capital structure. This study focuses on inspecting the capital structure of residential rental companies and commercial rental companies, as the volatility significantly differs, with residential rental companies having the upper hand. The economic situation influences the company's capital structure, with a downturn in the economy leading to increased debt levels. Hence, the aim of this study is to compare the impact of low and high economic cycles on the capital structure of residential rental companies and commercial rental companies in Sweden. Moreover, the study seeks to explore the various factors that affect the formation of their individual capital structure. Using a quantitative methodology with a deductive approach while also using the database Business Retriever, this study takes advantage of annual reports as the primary source of data collection. The study found that the economic situation affects capital structure for both types of companies, whereas commercial rental companies had a higher debt ratio under 2008 and 2017. The results show that profitability had the most significant impact on dependent variable debt ratio, although only in 2017 for commercial rental companies. Likewise, the company's size also had an effect, with the difference that the value was too low to be seen as significant. The other variables did not show to be statistically significant. Based on the study, residential rental companies are regarded as more stable due to its less volatile in revenues. Thus, making it a safe haven for investors compared to commercial rental companies. The conclusion from the study implies that both trade-off theory and the pecking order theory align with the results, with pecking order theory the more dominating. This is consistent with prior research, which is in the discussion section along with suggestions for future research.