2026 Edition — Illustrative survey data
Small Business Trends Report
How owners are growing, hiring, adopting AI and financing the year ahead — with the capital constraints that keep showing up in every conversation.
62%
Revenue Growth
reported higher revenue than the prior year
48%
AI Adoption
use at least one AI tool weekly
37%
Hiring Plans
plan to add headcount in the next 12 months
54%
Access to Capital
call financing their biggest constraint
All figures in this report are illustrative survey data compiled for educational purposes and should not be relied upon as statistical research.
Industry Performance
Median values by industry across the surveyed panel — illustrative data.
| Feature | Revenue growth | Median margin | Hiring intent | Financing used |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Construction & trades | +9% | 8% | 44% | Equipment financing |
| Restaurants & food service | +5% | 6% | 31% | Line of credit |
| Retail & e-commerce | +7% | 11% | 28% | Inventory line |
| Trucking & logistics | +4% | 9% | 35% | Equipment financing |
| Professional services | +11% | 21% | 42% | Term loan |
| Health & personal care | +8% | 14% | 39% | Term loan |
The Rise of AI in Small Business
Adoption is no longer concentrated in tech-forward companies — it shows up first where the work is repetitive.
Customer service — 41%
Owners using AI to draft replies, triage inbound messages, and staff after-hours chat report the fastest payback of any use case.
Marketing — 56%
Content drafting, ad copy variants, and social scheduling are the most common entry point, especially for teams without a marketing hire.
Operations — 29%
Scheduling, quoting, inventory forecasting, and bookkeeping cleanup — lower adoption today, but the highest reported time savings.
Access to Working Capital Remains the Top Challenge
More than half of surveyed owners named access to capital as their primary constraint — ahead of hiring, supply chain, and demand. The pattern is consistent: businesses do not run out of profit, they run out of timing. Payroll and supplier terms come due weeks before customers pay.
That is why working capital, not expansion, remains the single largest use of borrowed funds.
Top funding uses
- Working capital / payroll34%
- Inventory purchases24%
- Equipment and vehicles18%
- Marketing and customer acquisition13%
- Expansion or new location11%
2026 Economic Outlook
How owners describe their outlook for the year ahead.
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