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Biz2Credit’s Annual Small Business Industry Study Finds Wholesale Industry Leads Other Sectors in Most Financial Measures
Biz2Credit’s 2023 Top Small Business Industries Report released Tuesday, December 5, identified Wholesale Trade as the top industry for small business. The study found that wholesalers had both the highest average annual revenue and highest small business loan average funded amount.
Wholesale Trade was the industry with the highest average revenue ($900,076) among companies that ... [+]
Wholesale Trade had a very good year in 2022 as pandemic-related supply chain issues dissipated. The industry posted the highest average revenue and the highest average funded amount.
In other sectors, Health Care & Social Assistance had the highest funding approval rate, and Information Technology (IT) led in highest credit score. The Manufacturing sector had the longest established businesses, while Transportation & Warehousing was the industry with the youngest businesses.
Biz2Credit, a leading online funding provider to small businesses, analyzed the financial performance of over 52,000 applications submitted through the company’s online funding platform from January 1 through December 31, 2022. The six key metrics measured for each industry were:
- Annual Revenue
- Approval Rate for Business Loans
- Average Funded Amounts
- Business Owners’ Credit Scores
- Volume of Funding
- Age of Business
Key Findings:
- Wholesale Trade was the industry with the highest average revenue ($900,076), followed by Manufacturing ($865,000), Information Technology ($791,103), Construction ($720,451), and Accommodation and Food Services ($666,910).
- Healthcare & Social Assistance and Accommodation & Food Services had the highest approval rate for all financing applications at 37%, followed by Manufacturing (32%), Wholesale Trade (31%), and IT (30%).
- Wholesale Trade ($108,352) was the sector with the highest average funding amount, followed by Information Technology ($99,586), Retail Trade ($83,934), Manufacturing ($68,803), Accommodation & Food Services ($64,839), and Administrative & Support and Waste Management & Remediation Services ($64,614).
- IT business owners had the highest average credit score (669), followed by Manufacturing (665), Real Estate/Rental and Leasing (662), Wholesale Trade (658), Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services (650), and Finance and Insurance (646). Credit scores generally rose compared to last year's numbers.
- Retail Trade had the highest volume (24.8%) of funding issued to small businesses, followed by Accommodation and Food Services (15.7%), Construction (12.2%), Health Care and Social Assistance (10.6%), and Other Services (7.3%).
- Transportation & Warehousing was the industry with the youngest businesses (3.1 years), followed by Arts, Entertainment, & Recreation (4.2 years), Other Services except Public Administration (4.3 years), Real Estate/Rental and Leasing (4.5 years), Retail Trade (4.5 years), Accommodation and Food Services (4.5 years), and Wholesale Trade (4.8 years).
- Manufacturing (7.4 years) was the most established industry on average, followed by Information Technology and Educational Services (6.1 years), Finance & Insurance (6.0 years), Health Care & Social Assistance (5.9 years), and Professional, Scientific, & Technical Services (5.7 years).
Government Insights
“Challenges continue to mount but small businesses remain the backbone of the American economy,” said Congressman Marc Molinaro (R, NY-19), who serves on the House Small Businesses Committee. “It is in fact small businesses that innovate, that experiment, and ultimately create jobs that our neighbors rely on, and for that investment in our communities we're just tremendously grateful.”
“There are few committees that are still very bipartisan where folks really enjoy working together and the Small Business Committee is one of those and it's one of the reasons why I chose it,” said Congressman Greg Landsman (D, OH-01), who is also a member of the House Small Businesses Committee. “We’re building strong coalitions to help them overcome challenges and take advantage of opportunities. Small businesses really are at the heart of our economy and always will be in Cincinnati.”
To provide more current insights into the direction small businesses are headed, Biz2Credit also examined additional data from January – June 2023. Six-month findings were:
- Manufacturing had the highest average revenue ($1,128,641).
- Health Care & Social Assistance had the highest approval rate (48%).
- Information Technology had the highest average funded amount ($110,044).
- Information Technology had the highest average credit score of 670.
- Retail Trade had the highest volume of funding, contributing 21.4% of the overall funding.
- Transportation and Warehousing had the highest rate of startups with an average age of 3.5 years. Manufacturing had the most established companies with an average age of 8.0 years.
To view the Biz2Credit Industry Study results, click here.
