Business
BofA Report: 74% of Small and Mid-Sized Business Owners Expect Revenue to Increase in the Next Year
Small and mid-sized business owners are cautiously optimistic about the coming year, with 74% expecting revenue increases and nearly 60% planning to expand their businesses, according to the 2025 Bank of America Business Owner Report, conducted in partnership with the Bank of America Institute. This corresponds with Bank of America Institute data which found small business profitability growth has remained resilient throughout 2025.
About this update from Bank Of America Corporation
[{"type":"text","content":"More Than Half Plan to Expand Their Businesses, While Many Remain Worried About Inflation, Interest Rates, Supply Chains and Healthcare Costs ","length":141,"tagName":"p","attribs":{}},{"type":"text","content":"CHARLOTTE, N.C., Nov. 18, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Small and mid-sized business owners are cautiously optimistic about the coming year, with 74% expecting revenue increases and nearly 60% planning to expand their businesses, according to the 2025 Bank of America Business Owner Report, conducted in partnership with the Bank of America Institute. This corresponds with Bank of America Institute data which found small business profitability growth has remained resilient throughout 2025.","length":493,"tagName":"p"},{"type":"text","content":"Approximately half of business owners surveyed believe that local (53%), national (48%) and global (45%) economies will improve over the next year. Many noted their confidence would improve with: stabilization of tariff policy (53%), cooling inflation (52%), lower interest rates (52%) and stronger supply chains (39%).","length":319,"tagName":"p"},{"type":"text","content":""Business owners are approaching the coming year with confidence and a clear focus on growth," said Sharon Miller, President of Business Banking at Bank of America, the nation's number one small business lender, according to the FDIC. "Many plan to retain their current staff and hire more, and anticipate that local, national and global economies will improve."","length":386,"tagName":"p"},{"type":"text","content":"Key findings from the report include:","length":37,"tagName":"p"},{"type":"list","items":[{"val":[{"type":"text","content":"Navigating a tight labor market – Roughly three in five business owners (61%) say they are currently being impacted by labor shortages. Those affected are personally working more hours due to staff shortages (50%) and raising wages to attract more competitive talent (40%). Because the labor market is tight, only 1% of business owners are planning to lay off employees in the next 12 months, with 43% planning to hire more.","length":424,"tagName":"p"}]},{"val":[{"type":"text","content":"Adopting AI – AI has become essential to business owners, with 77% having integrated it into their operations in the past five years. Of those, they are using it for marketing (50...