Read our full analysis for a more in-depth look at these trends.
Small Business Checkpoint: Staying the course
Despite uncertainty weighing on hiring, small business profitability remains positive and more firms appear willing to borrow.
September 2025
Key takeaways
- Small business profitability growth increased 0.5% year-over-year in August and held steady from the prior month. This coincides with a small rise in business optimism as more owners reported stronger sales expectations and improved earnings in the August National Federation of Independent Business report.
- Tariffs remain a pressure on profitability and may be impacting hiring. Small business payments to hiring firms fell more than 6% from the 2024 average, according to Bank of America small business account data. However, while the services and retail sectors have slowed adding headcount, hiring among small construction and manufacturing companies was up more than 31% in August.
- Within Bank of America account data, small business payments to lenders has improved slightly over the past few months as the Fed funds rate has come down from last year. As for capex, these businesses continued to spend on tech services in August, though have become more selective with business travel spending.
Small Business Checkpoint is a regular publication from Bank of America Institute. It aims to provide a real-time assessment of small business spending activities and financial well-being, leveraging the depth and breadth of Bank of America’s proprietary data. 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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