Green finance has steadily grown to be a significant factor influencing the modification of corporate capital structures in recent years as investors have become more aware of ESG and global climate rules have gotten more stringent. However, how exactly green financing affects corporate capital structures remains a key issue of concern in both academia and practice. Motivated by this, this paper aims to explore the impact of green financing on corporate capital structures. Combining literature review and case analysis, this paper selects Apple Inc. and ExxonMobil as typical cases and reveals, through comparative analysis, the differentiated impacts of green financing on different types of enterprises. The results show that green financing has a debt redistribution effect: it can extend debt maturities, reduce financing costs, and decrease reliance on equity financing. At the equity structure level, green financing attracts long-term investors by enhancing a companys green reputation, thereby stabilizing shareholder structures and lowering the cost of equity capital. In terms of capital costs, the greenium effect of green bonds and the accumulation of a long-term green reputation significantly optimize the weighted average cost of capital (WACC). In sum, green financing not only improves the stability of corporate capital structures but also enhances corporate value and sustainable development capacity.
Yiwei Fang (Wed,) studied this question.