KPMG Financial Performance Index (KPMG FPI)

A corporate financial performance indexaDiscover which countries and territories are among the best performers by analyzing the financial performance of different sectors and identifying distressed companies. Then compare your company's financial performance with tens of thousands of listed companies around the world. KPMG's Financial Performance Index (FPI) is one of the clearest indices of corporate financial performance.

The KPMG FPI is designed to provide investors, financiers, regulators and governments with insights into the relative strength and health of key markets and sectors. With millions of data points going back to 2017, these long-term trends can help you spot signs of improvement or impending distress.

On this quarterly updated website, you can interact with the data to analyze shifts, trends and related opportunities. You'll also find key highlights from the last quarter and a look at rapidly evolving industries.

The KPMG FPI combines a range of market and financial performance indicators into a single index covering almost 40,000 listed companies from around the world. Please note that only listed companies headquartered in Germany are included in the German version of the KPMG FPI. This means that individual statements on sectors and subsectors, for example, are not directly transferable to the predominantly unlisted German SME sector. The FPI score also has a predictive function, meaning that early signs of financial performance can be identified, usually before they attract media attention.

The index rates companies on a scale of zero to 100, with zero representing serious distress and 100 representing the best performance.

As many companies perform well for most of their existence, there is a natural tendency for a higher quartile score. As a result, around 80 percent of companies in our index score between 85 and 99.

As the KPMG FPI is a Logit2 model, falling below the average can very quickly lead to an index value of zero.

Readers should therefore bear the following in mind when examining this data:

• The absolute score (0 to 100)
• Comparisons between different geographies
• Comparisons between sectors
• Relative performance compared to other companies
• Trends over time
• Macro events that influence trends
• Expected macroeconomic events that may impact future results

Read more about our methodology.

After a slight decline in the global KPMG FPI score from 3Q23 to 4Q23, the score improved from 89.43 in 4Q23 to 89.54 in 1Q24, leading to a slight recovery in the financial performance of companies worldwide.

Average FPI score and number of non-performing1 companies | 1 January 2024 to 31 March 2024

After the KPMG FPI score for listed companies headquartered in Germany had previously recorded the fifth-highest score since documentation began in 4Q23, the KPMG FPI Germany score improved again in 1Q24 by +0.4% to 93.36 - the highest level since 4Q21.

KPMG FPI Score for listed companies headquartered in Germany over time since 1 January 2020

With an improvement of 6.0% compared to the previous quarter of 4Q23, the "Infrastructure and Real Estate" sector recorded the largest percentage improvement in the KPMG FPI score for listed companies headquartered in Germany. The growth of 6.1% in the "Real Estate Operating and Management Companies" sub-sector was the main reason for this development. The "Business Services" sector recorded growth of 2.0% in the same period and thus the second-largest percentage improvement, closely followed by "Aerospace and Defence" with an improvement of 1.8%. From 4Q23 to 1Q24, there were 8 sectors that showed an improvement in the KPMG FPI score for listed companies headquartered in Germany.

The sectors with the largest percentage deterioration in 1Q24 include "Trading Companies and Distributors" (-26.0%), "Raw Materials and Natural Resources" (-5.1%) and "Energy" (-4.9%). The deterioration in the "Raw Materials and Natural Resources" sector was significantly influenced by the performance of the "Metals and Mining" sub-sector (-5.1%). For the "Energy" sector, the deterioration is attributable to the "Independent Power Generators" sub-sector, which fell by -4.7% compared to 4Q23.

Comparative period | 1 January 2024 to 31 March 2024

In 1Q24, the "Biotechnology" and "Business Services" sectors recorded the only scores above 97.00 and thus the highest KPMG FPI scores for listed companies headquartered in Germany. The "Infrastructure and Real Estate" sector recorded a score of over 95.00 in 1Q24 for the first time since 3Q21, which is attributable to the positive development in the "Real Estate Operating and Management Companies" sector (+6.1 %). The subsector with the highest FPI Germany score in 1Q24 is "Biotechnology" (98.28), followed by "Construction and Building Materials" (97.85) and "Commercial Services and Supplies" (97.84).

The lowest KPMG FPI scores for listed companies headquartered in Germany were recorded in the "Trading Companies and Distributors" (69.56), "Consumer Markets" (90.18) and "Energy" (90.56) sectors. In the "Consumer Markets" sector, this development is attributable to the "Retailers" sub-sector with a score of 88.89. In the "Energy" sector, there was a significant deterioration due to the "Independent Power Generators" sub-sector (-4.7%). The three lowest KPMG FPI scores for listed companies headquartered in Germany at sub-sector level are "Trading Companies and Distributors" (69.56), followed by "Retailers" (88.89) and "Real Estate Operating and Management Companies" (90.38).

Average KPMG FPI score for listed companies headquartered in Germany | 1 January 2024 to 31 March 2024

(sectors weighted by market capitalisation) 

In a European and global comparison, German companies in the "Biotechnology", "Business Services", "Chemicals", "Industrial Conglomerates" and "Life Sciences Tools and Services" sectors each have a score of over 95.00, which is higher than the European and global comparison sectors.

In contrast, German companies in the "Consumer Markets", "Energy" and "Trading Companies and Distributors" sectors have a score of less than 91.00, which is significantly lower than the European and global comparison.

Average KPMG FPI score for listed companies headquartered in Germany | 1 January 2024 to 31 March 2024

The following chart provides an individual comparison of the largest sectors and subsectors (based on market capitalisation) for listed companies headquartered in Germany. 

Please select the desired quarter and the corresponding sector for a comparison

"Zombies" are companies that have been close to insolvency for three or more consecutive quarters (with a score of 0 on the KPMG FPI).

The number of global zombies fell by 10.6 % this quarter (from 1,300 in 3Q23 to 1,162 in 4Q23). While this is a good sign, it should be noted that the number of zombies almost doubled year-on-year (from 2,558 in 2022 to 4,165 in 2023). Many of these companies may already be in distress or working on restructuring measures.

The sectors with the highest proportion of global zombies in 4Q23 included "Raw Materials and Natural Resources" (194), "Technology and Telecommunication" (173) and "Biotechnology" (138).

Development of the number of zombie companies at global level per sector | 1 January 2024 to 31 March 2024

The KPMG Financial Performance Index measures the financial health of individual companies. Based on an initial pool of more than 40,000 companies worldwide, the KPMG FPI identifies those companies, sectors, regions, countries and territories that are performing well and those that are underperforming. A higher score in the KPMG FPI indicates a strong performance.

KPMG's FPI model is based on the Logit Probability to Financial Default model (developed by John Campbell, Jens Hilscher and Jan Szilagyi), which is based on eight explanatory variables that include financial and market variables to determine the overall financial health of a company. KPMG's FPI is based on raw data from the S&P Capital IQ database.

We publish our findings every quarter. However, the model can be run on any given day to reflect current market changes. Please contact your respective KPMG member firm or contact us at in-fmkpmgfpi@kpmg.com for more information.