Vliv zadluženosti na výkonnost českých SMEs ve stavebnictví v letech 2019–2024

This master’s thesis examines the impact of leverage on the performance of Czech small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the construction sector during the period 2019–2024. The analysed period includes significant macroeconomic shocks, notably the COVID-19 pandemic, the energy crisis, and rising interest rates, thereby providing a suitable framework for analysing the relationship between leverage and performance under volatile external conditions. The theoretical part of the thesis is based on key approaches to capital structure, specifically Pecking Order Theory and Trade-off Theory, while also taking into account the specific features of SME financing. The empirical part is based on a quantitative analysis of panel data from the Orbis database. The relationship between leverage, measured as the ratio of total liabilities to total assets, and performance, measured by an EBITDA-based ROA indicator, is estimated using a fixed-effects panel regression model. The results confirm a statistically significant negative relationship between leverage and performance; however, they do not provide sufficient support for the conclusion that this negative relationship significantly strengthened during the period 2022–2024. The thesis thus contributes to the understanding of the relationship between leverage and the performance of Czech SMEs in the capital-intensive construction sector during a period of economic instability.