This study examines the impact of profitability on the capital structure decision of US multinational and domestic corporations. The findings reveal that the relationship between multinational corporations’ (MNCs') profitability and their leverage ratios is U-shaped and nonlinear, while this nonlinear relation does not exist for domestic firms (DCs). This nonlinear relationship indicates that the effect of profitability on multinational corporations' leverage depends on the levels of their profitability. Consistent with the dominance of the pecking order theory, lower-profitability MNCs have a tax shield advantage that does not outweigh the information asymmetry costs of debt financing. Conversely, higher-profitability MNCs have a tax shield advantage that outweighs the information asymmetry costs of debt financing. The findings are robust after using two different classifications for multinational firms, including foreign tax and foreign sales; after applying an alternative methodology and during different time horizons.

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探索盈利能力和杠杆率之间的非线性联系：美国跨国公司与国内公司

本研究考察了盈利能力对美国跨国公司和国内公司资本结构决策的影响。研究结果表明，跨国公司 (MNC) 的盈利能力与其杠杆率之间的关系呈 U 型和非线性关系，而国内公司 (DC) 不存在这种非线性关系。这种非线性关系表明盈利能力对跨国公司杠杆的影响取决于其盈利水平。与啄食顺序理论的主导地位一致，利润率较低的跨国公司具有税盾优势，不会超过债务融资的信息不对称成本。相反，盈利能力较高的跨国公司具有超过债务融资的信息不对称成本的税盾优势。在对跨国公司使用两种不同的分类（包括外国税收和外国销售）后，结果是可靠的；在应用替代方法之后并在不同的时间范围内。