November 18, 2025 at 7:00 AM Eastern

B of A Report: seventy four percent of Small and Mid-Sized Business Owners Expect Revenue to Increase in the Next Year

More Than Half Plan to Expand Their Businesses, While Many Remain Worried About Inflation, Interest Rates, Supply Chains and Healthcare Costs

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CHARLOTTE, North Carolina – Small and mid-sized business owners are cautiously optimistic about the coming year, with seventy four percent expecting revenue increases and nearly sixty percent planning to expand their businesses, according to the twenty twenty five Bank of America Business Owner Report (PDF), 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 twenty twenty five.

Approximately half of business owners surveyed believe that local (fifty three percent), national (forty eight percent) and global (forty five percent) economies will improve over the next year. Many noted their confidence would improve with: stabilization of tariff policy (fifty three percent), cooling inflation (fifty two percent), lower interest rates (fifty two percent) and stronger supply chains (thirty nine percent).

 

“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 F D I C. “Many plan to retain their current staff and hire more, and anticipate that local, national and global economies will improve.”

Key findings from the report include:

Navigating a tight labor market – Roughly three in five business owners (sixty one percent) say they are currently being impacted by labor shortages. Those affected are personally working more hours due to staff shortages (fifty percent) and raising wages to attract more competitive talent (forty percent). Because the labor market is tight, only one percent of business owners are planning to lay off employees in the next 12 months, with forty three percent planning to hire more.

  • Adopting A I – A I has become essential to business owners, with seventy seven percent having integrated it into their operations in the past five years. Of those, they are using it for marketing (fifty percent), content production (thirty eight percent), customer service (thirty seven percent) and inventory management (twenty eight percent). According to Bank of America Institute, small business payments to tech services, including A I, were up nearly eight percent year-over-year as of October.
  • Optimizing supply chains – seventy five percent of business owners surveyed say they are currently being impacted by supply chain issues. Of those impacted, fifty two percent are raising the prices of goods and services and thirty two percent are having difficulty sourcing products and services.
  • Managing inflation – Most business owners (eighty eight percent) say they are currently being impacted by inflation, consistent with last year. As a result, they are raising prices of goods and/or services (sixty four percent) and reevaluating cash flow and spending for the year ahead (thirty nine percent).

Looking further into the future, business owners’ focus on growth and innovation over the next five years signals cautious optimism.

  • During the remainder of the decade, their priorities include expanding customer bases (forty seven percent), expanding products and services (thirty nine percent) and exploring new marketing tactics (thirty five percent).
  • Nearly all business owners (ninety one percent) plan to adopt more digital tools, including A I, over the next five years to further modernize, increase growth and improve employee efficiency. These business owners plan to:
  • Accept more forms of digital payments (fifty two percent).
  • Improve employee workflows to make daily tasks more efficient (forty seven percent).
  • Implement more digital-first marketing strategies (forty five percent).
  • Increase cybersecurity measures (thirty percent).
  • Business owners are divided when it comes to succession planning, with the majority (seventy percent) not focused on an exit strategy in the next five years. While sixty percent have a succession plan in place, forty percent have yet to prepare for the future of their business.
  • Among those with a succession plan in place, one-third (thirty two percent) plan to transition their business to a family member, while thirty eight percent plan to sell the business.

Bank of America twenty twenty five Business Owner Report Methodology

Ipsos conducted the twenty twenty five Bank of America Business Owner Report survey online between Septembereleventh and Septembertwenty third, twenty twenty five, using a pre-recruited online sample of business owners. Ipsos contacted a national sample of 819 small business owners in the United States with annual revenue between one hundred thousand dollars and four million nine hundred ninety nine thousand nine hundred ninety nine dollars and employing between two and 99 employees. Ipsos also interviewed a national sample of 253 medium-sized business owners in the United States with annual revenue between five million dollars and forty nine million nine hundred ninety nine thousand nine hundred ninety nine dollars and employing between two and 499 employees. The final results for the national small, medium-sized, and combined (small and medium-sized) business owner samples were weighted to their respective national benchmark standards for size, revenue and region.

Bank of America Institute

Bank of America Institute is dedicated to uncovering powerful insights that move business and society forward. Established in twenty twenty two, the Institute is a think tank that draws on data and analyses from across the bank and the world to provide timely and original perspectives on the economy, sustainability, and global transformation. The Institute leverages the depth and breadth of the bank’s proprietary data, from nearly 70 million consumer and small business clients, 58 million verified digital users, four point three trillion dollars in total payments in twenty twenty four and one point two trillion dollars in consumer and wealth management deposits. From this robust data set, the Institute provides a unique perspective on the health of the economy. It also elevates thought leadership from throughout the bank that addresses long-term trends and shares these findings with the general public.

Bank of America

Bank of America is one of the world’s leading financial institutions, serving individual consumers, small and middle-market businesses and large corporations with a full range of banking, investing, asset management and other financial and risk management products and services. The company provides unmatched convenience in the United States, serving nearly 70 million consumer and small business clients with approximately 3,600 retail financial centers, approximately 15,000 A T Ms (automated teller machines) and award-winning digital banking with approximately 59 million verified digital users. Bank of America is a global leader in wealth management, corporate and investment banking and trading across a broad range of asset classes, serving corporations, governments, institutions and individuals around the world. Bank of America offers industry-leading support to approximately 4 million small business households through a suite of innovative, easy-to-use online products and services. The company serves clients through operations across the United States, its territories and more than 35 countries. Bank of America Corporation stock (N Y S E B A C) is listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

Reporters may contact

Susan Atran, Bank of America
Phone: one six four six seven four three zero seven nine one
susan.atran@bofa.com

Media Resources

To download an image for editorial use, click on the image.

During the remainder of the decade, their priorities include:

  • Expanding customer bases, forty seven percent
  • Expanding products and services, thirty nine percent
  • Exploring new marketing tactics, thirty five percent

Nearly all business owners (ninety one percent) plan to adopt more digital tools, including A I, over the next five years to further modernize, increase growth and improve employee efficiency. These business owners plan to:

  • Accept more forms of digital payments (fifty two percent).
  • Improve employee workflows to make daily tasks more efficient (forty seven percent).
  • Implement more digital-first marketing strategies (forty five percent).
  • Increase cybersecurity measures (thirty percent).

Among those with a succession plan in place, one-third (thirty two percent) plan to transition their business to a family member, while thirty eight percent plan to sell the business.

Business owners are divided when it comes to succession planning, with the majority (seventy percent) not focused on an exit strategy in the next five years. While sixty percent have a succession plan in place, forty percent have yet to prepare for the future of their business.

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November 18, 2025 at 7:00 AM Eastern

B of A Report: seventy four percent of Small and Mid-Sized Business Owners Expect Revenue to Increase in the Next Year

More Than Half Plan to Expand Their Businesses, While Many Remain Worried About Inflation, Interest Rates, Supply Chains and Healthcare Costs

Leer en español

CHARLOTTE, North Carolina – Small and mid-sized business owners are cautiously optimistic about the coming year, with seventy four percent expecting revenue increases and nearly sixty percent planning to expand their businesses, according to the twenty twenty five Bank of America Business Owner Report (PDF), 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 twenty twenty five.

Approximately half of business owners surveyed believe that local (fifty three percent), national (forty eight percent) and global (forty five percent) economies will improve over the next year. Many noted their confidence would improve with: stabilization of tariff policy (fifty three percent), cooling inflation (fifty two percent), lower interest rates (fifty two percent) and stronger supply chains (thirty nine percent).

 

“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 F D I C. “Many plan to retain their current staff and hire more, and anticipate that local, national and global economies will improve.”

Key findings from the report include:

Navigating a tight labor market – Roughly three in five business owners (sixty one percent) say they are currently being impacted by labor shortages. Those affected are personally working more hours due to staff shortages (fifty percent) and raising wages to attract more competitive talent (forty percent). Because the labor market is tight, only one percent of business owners are planning to lay off employees in the next 12 months, with forty three percent planning to hire more.

  • Adopting A I – A I has become essential to business owners, with seventy seven percent having integrated it into their operations in the past five years. Of those, they are using it for marketing (fifty percent), content production (thirty eight percent), customer service (thirty seven percent) and inventory management (twenty eight percent). According to Bank of America Institute, small business payments to tech services, including A I, were up nearly eight percent year-over-year as of October.
  • Optimizing supply chains – seventy five percent of business owners surveyed say they are currently being impacted by supply chain issues. Of those impacted, fifty two percent are raising the prices of goods and services and thirty two percent are having difficulty sourcing products and services.
  • Managing inflation – Most business owners (eighty eight percent) say they are currently being impacted by inflation, consistent with last year. As a result, they are raising prices of goods and/or services (sixty four percent) and reevaluating cash flow and spending for the year ahead (thirty nine percent).

Looking further into the future, business owners’ focus on growth and innovation over the next five years signals cautious optimism.

  • During the remainder of the decade, their priorities include expanding customer bases (forty seven percent), expanding products and services (thirty nine percent) and exploring new marketing tactics (thirty five percent).
  • Nearly all business owners (ninety one percent) plan to adopt more digital tools, including A I, over the next five years to further modernize, increase growth and improve employee efficiency. These business owners plan to:
  • Accept more forms of digital payments (fifty two percent).
  • Improve employee workflows to make daily tasks more efficient (forty seven percent).
  • Implement more digital-first marketing strategies (forty five percent).
  • Increase cybersecurity measures (thirty percent).
  • Business owners are divided when it comes to succession planning, with the majority (seventy percent) not focused on an exit strategy in the next five years. While sixty percent have a succession plan in place, forty percent have yet to prepare for the future of their business.
  • Among those with a succession plan in place, one-third (thirty two percent) plan to transition their business to a family member, while thirty eight percent plan to sell the business.

Bank of America twenty twenty five Business Owner Report Methodology

Ipsos conducted the twenty twenty five Bank of America Business Owner Report survey online between Septembereleventh and Septembertwenty third, twenty twenty five, using a pre-recruited online sample of business owners. Ipsos contacted a national sample of 819 small business owners in the United States with annual revenue between one hundred thousand dollars and four million nine hundred ninety nine thousand nine hundred ninety nine dollars and employing between two and 99 employees. Ipsos also interviewed a national sample of 253 medium-sized business owners in the United States with annual revenue between five million dollars and forty nine million nine hundred ninety nine thousand nine hundred ninety nine dollars and employing between two and 499 employees. The final results for the national small, medium-sized, and combined (small and medium-sized) business owner samples were weighted to their respective national benchmark standards for size, revenue and region.

Bank of America Institute

Bank of America Institute is dedicated to uncovering powerful insights that move business and society forward. Established in twenty twenty two, the Institute is a think tank that draws on data and analyses from across the bank and the world to provide timely and original perspectives on the economy, sustainability, and global transformation. The Institute leverages the depth and breadth of the bank’s proprietary data, from nearly 70 million consumer and small business clients, 58 million verified digital users, four point three trillion dollars in total payments in twenty twenty four and one point two trillion dollars in consumer and wealth management deposits. From this robust data set, the Institute provides a unique perspective on the health of the economy. It also elevates thought leadership from throughout the bank that addresses long-term trends and shares these findings with the general public.

Bank of America

Bank of America is one of the world’s leading financial institutions, serving individual consumers, small and middle-market businesses and large corporations with a full range of banking, investing, asset management and other financial and risk management products and services. The company provides unmatched convenience in the United States, serving nearly 70 million consumer and small business clients with approximately 3,600 retail financial centers, approximately 15,000 A T Ms (automated teller machines) and award-winning digital banking with approximately 59 million verified digital users. Bank of America is a global leader in wealth management, corporate and investment banking and trading across a broad range of asset classes, serving corporations, governments, institutions and individuals around the world. Bank of America offers industry-leading support to approximately 4 million small business households through a suite of innovative, easy-to-use online products and services. The company serves clients through operations across the United States, its territories and more than 35 countries. Bank of America Corporation stock (N Y S E B A C) is listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

Reporters may contact

Susan Atran, Bank of America
Phone: one six four six seven four three zero seven nine one
susan.atran@bofa.com

Media Resources

To download an image for editorial use, click on the image.

During the remainder of the decade, their priorities include:

  • Expanding customer bases, forty seven percent
  • Expanding products and services, thirty nine percent
  • Exploring new marketing tactics, thirty five percent

Nearly all business owners (ninety one percent) plan to adopt more digital tools, including A I, over the next five years to further modernize, increase growth and improve employee efficiency. These business owners plan to:

  • Accept more forms of digital payments (fifty two percent).
  • Improve employee workflows to make daily tasks more efficient (forty seven percent).
  • Implement more digital-first marketing strategies (forty five percent).
  • Increase cybersecurity measures (thirty percent).

Among those with a succession plan in place, one-third (thirty two percent) plan to transition their business to a family member, while thirty eight percent plan to sell the business.

Business owners are divided when it comes to succession planning, with the majority (seventy percent) not focused on an exit strategy in the next five years. While sixty percent have a succession plan in place, forty percent have yet to prepare for the future of their business.

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