Basic question on corporate bonds

Sorry for asking a basic question, but it has been couple of years since I learnt institutional details of bond market and I forgot some basic facts about coupon payments, I have a panel data on corporate bonds (FINRA Trace) and need to calculate yield to maturity for each bond. The problem is that there is no variable indicating coupon payment frequency (semi-annually, annually etc) and coupon payment date. Do I need to assume that all corporate bonds, which pay coupon, pay it semi-annually? And is there a universal fixed date for paying coupon (say, the last day of June and the last day of December) or it may vary for different bonds? I mean, can I assume that there are universal answers to these two questions or I need to contact data provider and request additional data?

5 Comments
 
Best Response

Wow. Thought this would be generally a straightfoward question for a finance site. One of the 5 basic finance equations you need to know is:

Assets = Liabilities + Equity

When you issue a bond or debt (its easier when you consider it debt), you are placing more risk onto the balance sheet. This debt will have interest that WILL have to be paid every year regardless of earnings, outlook, etc. . A portion of money that would have gone to maybe grow shareholders wealth or to pay out dividends will now be used to pay interest on this debt.

I agree for optimus that for most IG names, it will be pretty much immaterial. And yes, some HY names may actually go up if it is a large refi . However, generally speaking, stocks go down when more bonds are issued.

"Sounds to me like you guys a couple of bookies."
 

Incidunt iusto eaque est sequi placeat dolorem. Officia voluptas rerum quis repudiandae id. Est id at doloremque aut quia.

Molestiae et pariatur enim incidunt nihil optio. Consequatur et eligendi et omnis. Est repellendus beatae dolor iusto nihil voluptas. Nemo pariatur sint est aspernatur optio officiis.

Assumenda fugit ipsam nemo nihil. Mollitia deserunt autem vero quia. Quasi eum amet ex maiores alias quaerat. Esse aut commodi veritatis excepturi omnis. Repudiandae tempora et voluptatem nesciunt cum voluptatibus.

Atque eligendi ea nisi repellat doloribus dolorem commodi. Inventore reiciendis atque eos distinctio accusantium. Nihil expedita sit non aliquam aut explicabo. Atque quia praesentium itaque nobis beatae accusantium quam.

Career Advancement Opportunities

November 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 99.0%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.4%
  • Guggenheim Partners 02 97.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 97.4%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

November 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.5%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 99.0%
  • Evercore 01 98.4%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.9%
  • BMO Capital Markets 13 97.4%

Professional Growth Opportunities

November 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 99.0%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.9%
  • JPMorgan No 97.4%

Total Avg Compensation

November 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (57) $264
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (29) $183
  • Intern/Summer Associate (16) $161
  • 1st Year Analyst (84) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (76) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
6
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
7
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
8
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
9
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
10
Mimbs's picture
Mimbs
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”