In One Chart: As deadline passes for returning small-business loans, public companies have given back $500 million and kept $900 million

So how have the returns gone?

At least 63 public companies have returned PPP loans worth about $510 million as of Tuesday afternoon.

That likely amounts to less than 20% of the publicly traded companies that borrowed through the PPP, as analytics firm FactSquared estimates about 400 public companies in total received loans. More than $900 million in PPP loans is being kept by publicly traded enterprises rather than returned, according to FactSquared’s data.

FactSquared’s analysis of regulatory filings has 62 public companies giving back $425 million in loans as of Tuesday, but its tally doesn’t include giant car seller AutoNation Inc. AN, -3.74% , which said in late April that it was returning $77 million in PPP loans.

The table below includes AutoNation but otherwise is based on FactSquared’s data. It lists several companies twice because they received more than one loan.

Public companies that have returned PPP loans

Source: FactSquared, MarketWatch

Some Treasury guidance related to loan size suggests that about half of the PPP loans given to public companies don’t need to be returned. It says any borrower that received less than $2 million “will be deemed to have made the required certification concerning the necessity of the loan request in good faith,” and FactSquared has found that a little more than half of the roughly 400 PPP loans given to publicly traded enterprises were for less than $2 million.

Republican and Democratic members of a new watchdog panel also have clashed over whether some public companies should return their PPP money.

What’s more, most of the publicly traded companies that received PPP loans rank as micro-cap stocks, according to FactSquared’s data. So they might not fit the bill when it comes to the Treasury’s targeting of borrowers with “substantial market value and access to capital markets.” A micro cap is often defined as a stock with a market value of $300 million or less.

For example, cruise operator Lindblad Expeditions Holdings Inc. LIND, -7.43%, which recently had a market capitalization of about $300 million, said in late April that it didn’t have ready access to capital and planned to keep its $6.6 million loan.

However, the company said in a May 1 conference call that it was giving back the money, with CEO Sven-Olof Lindblad noting “negativity” around borrowers, “especially public companies regardless of size or need.” The executive also wrote in an opinion column that while his company “is not a mom-and-pop concern, in the context of American public businesses, it is small.”

Three hotel companies tied to Dallas businessman Monty Bennett also reversed themselves after applying for $126 million and initially saying they planned to “keep all funds received under the PPP.”

“While we believed then and continue to believe today that we qualify for PPP loans based on the legislation and rule-making in place at the time our applications were submitted, continuous SBA rule changes and evolving opinions by Administration officials have led us to conclude that we may no longer qualify,” said a May 2 statement from Ashford Inc. AINC, -2.74%, Ashford Hospitality Trust Inc. AHT, -10.19% and Braemar Hotels & Resorts Inc. BHR, -2.81%, which recently were showing a combined market cap that had fallen below $300 million. “As a result, the Ashford Group of Companies will return all PPP funds on or before May 7.”

Read more:Here’s why hotel and restaurant chains got the coronavirus aid for small businesses

Other companies shown in the graphic that have made returns are restaurant operators Shake Shack Inc. SHAK, -1.08%, Ruth’s Hospitality Group Inc. RUTH, +1.47% and Potbelly Corp. PBPB, -6.25%.

A backlash over large companies obtaining PPP loans while many small businesses experienced delays also has prompted returns by privately held companies, including the Los Angeles Lakers, restaurant chain Sweetgreen and media outlet Axios. In addition, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has criticized some private K-12 schools with significant endowments for borrowing through the program.

Related:Mnuchin says U.S. will audit PPP loans above $2 million

The Justice Department has opened an investigation into companies that applied for PPP loans, and experts say borrowers that provided misleading information could face jail sentences. The Small Business Administration has rejected Freedom of Information Act requests for details about PPP borrowers, saying that for now it needs to prioritize its effort to help businesses.

The PPP quickly ran through the $350 billion that it received initially in late March through the $2.2 trillion CARES Act, and then in late April got an additional $320 billion as President Donald Trump signed into law the $484 billion Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act.

Related:Here are the public companies that got coronavirus aid meant for small businesses

And see:Pelosi suggests banks making PPP loans shouldn’t get paid more for serving bigger companies

“So far, PPP hasn’t gone smoothly,” said Capital Alpha Partners analyst Ian Katz in a recent note.

“It does indeed seem unfair that a company large enough to trade on a stock exchange, or an individual with enough money to have a designated concierge at a major bank, should be able to cut in line in front of mom-and-pops,” Katz also said. “We get that. But what’s not getting adequate discussion is the economic objective, which is getting people back to work.”

Now read:Emergency loans for small businesses ‘flowed to areas less hard hit’ by coronavirus, study finds

Also:PPP discriminates against women and minorities, lawsuit alleges

This is an updated version of a story that first published on April 29, 2020.