Read our full analysis for a more in-depth look at these trends.
Business Checkpoint: Bigger and better
Business conditions improved across small and mid-sized firms in August, with small businesses leading in profitability growth.
September 2026
Key takeaways
- Bank of America Institute's Business Checkpoint is a new evolution of our Small Business Checkpoint, broadening the data set from firms with <$5M in annual revenue to those with <$50M. Not only does this increase the number of businesses in our dataset, but mid-sized firms generate more than double the share of revenue of smaller firms, according to Census Bureau data.
- Since May, small business profitability growth has exceeded that of mid-sized firms, with hiring-related payments also improving, while mid-sized firms have shown more modest gains across both measures in August, according to Bank of America business account data.
- Meanwhile, payroll growth in August has strengthened among mid-sized firms despite weaker employment gains, while both small and mid-sized businesses have exhibited accelerated AI-related spending growth, suggesting firms are adapting to the current environment in different ways depending on their size.
Business Checkpoint is a new, regular publication from Bank of America Institute. It provides a real-time view of the financial health, opportunities and challenges facing small and mid-sized businesses across the US economy, leveraging the depth and breadth of Bank of America's proprietary data. By analyzing activity among both small and mid-sized firms, Business Checkpoint offers timely insights into business profitability, hiring, investment and spending trends. Such data is not intended to be reflective or indicative of, and should not be relied upon as, the results of operations, financial condition or performance of Bank of America.
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