The authors collect a sample of 5920 debt reports issued by 15 brokerages over the years 1999 to 2004. These reports were witten to convey information to the brokerage firm’ customers who are investors in bonds. Many brokerage reports appear duplicative of the credit rating agency reports to justify the expense of producing them. Their results show that analysts are more likely to follow the debt of firms with a higher probability of financial distress, larger outstanding debt and higher debt-to-equity ratios.