After a volatile2025where more thanone-third ofreforecasttheir revenueprojectionsby mid-year—affecting their business plans and bottom line—it looks like things may improveinthe year to come.
A Chief Executive Researchsurvey of 1030 companiesfor our2025-26 Financial Performance Benchmarks Reportfound theoverall average revenue growth rate expected to climb to 7.9 percentin 2026––up from a projected 6.9 percent in 2025 and 5.6 percent(actual)in 2024.
Our annualFinancial Performance Benchmarks Reportis the largest survey of its kind in the U.S., charting profitability trends by company size, industry and ownership type acrossnearly everygeography in the nation.
Revs By Company Size: Small, Shakey; Bigger, Slower
CEGResearchfound, once again,thatsmall and mid-marketcompaniesexpect more substantialrevenue growthin 2026than theirlargerpeers,whichtend tomaintainmoremodest andconsistentgrowth.Amongthe largestfirms, abiggerproportion(14 percent)forecast no changetorevenue intothe new yearcompared tothe smallestcompanies(8 percent).
The smallest firmssuffer—understandably—thelargest degrees of volatility when itcomes toprofitand revenue projectionsin our annual survey.Firms withunder 100employeesexpectthe highest rates ofdecline in2025—andlargest recoveryin 2026.Similarly,just 33percentof companies with under $5 million in revenuereportedamodest revenue growth rate of up to 5 percentin 2025. Now45percentareprojecting thisgrowthratein2026.
Among nearly all company sizes(except for the largest), the proportion of executives expecting no change in their revenues into the new yearshrunksignificantly since 2025in light ofnew growth.Simultaneously, therehavebeensignificant reductions to the number of organizations expecting some kind of revenuedeclineinthe next twelve months.
For companies valuedatless than $5 million, for example,14percent provided a flat forecast in 2025, in comparison to8percent in 2026 (adecrease of43percent). Similar growth rates can be seen among companies of othersizes.
The Revs vs. Profit Picture
Asyou’dexpect, revenuegrowth is closelycorrelated with profitability,andfirmswiththe highest EBITDA values expect some of the most significant (over 10 percent) growthby this time next year.
Across the profitability scale, there are more companiesexpectmoderaterevenuegrowthof 5 to 9.9 percent into 2026 in comparison to 2025.For organizations with an EBITDA of 10–14.9 percent, for example,just 21percent forecasted moderate growth in 2025, in comparison to24percent in 2026.
Unprofitable firms are the most likely to forecast unchanged revenues(32 percent)in comparison to 2025, although a sizeable proportion (just under 30 percent)dopredictdecreases.
A Look Back: Total Net Revenue in 2025
Total net revenue per employee is expected to rise just 0.3 percent(from$265,714 to $266,667)at the median in 2025, in comparison to healthier growth over 2023–2024.At the top quartile, however,net revenueperemployee is forecasted to decrease by6 percent this year––from$533,929 to just $500,000––suggesting a stagnation in productivity among firms at the median, and a measurable fall among those within the top quartile.
For a detailed breakdown of profitability trends by company size,industryand ownership type, and to benchmark your own business performance,refer tothe2025–26 Financial Benchmarks Report for U.S. Companiesfrom Chief Executive Group.
