CEOs Accelerate Performance Improvement Initiatives, Capital Markets Activity Amid Legislative Disruption
BOSTON, Dec. 18, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Capstone Partners, a leading middle market investment banking firm, released its 2025 Middle Market Business Owners Survey Report, with insights from privately-owned companies across the U.S. This report combines Capstone’s in-depth middle market knowledge with proprietary data obtained from 401 participating owners of privately-owned, middle market companies. Conducted between August 11, 2025, and October 3, 2025, the survey captures sentiment at a pivotal moment in the U.S., identifying CEOs’ decision-making processes, growth, financial, and exit plans, and value drivers that characterized middle market business in 2025.
Key Findings:
- For the third consecutive year, the majority (92.5%) of CEOs ranked inflation as their top concern regarding company growth.
- The lion’s share (39.7%) of business owners has reduced company expenses to adjust for tariffs.
- CEO perspectives on the One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB) Act are split, with 41.4% anticipating no influence on company operations, while 36.7% expect a negative effect on their business and 21.9% expressed a positive outlook on the bill’s impact.
- Middle market business owners have increasingly explored capital markets transactions to accelerate company growth, secure personal liquidity, and optimize capital structure—57.4% of CEOs have completed at least one transaction in the last 12 months.
- Private equity (PE) interest in middle market businesses has continued to expand, with 53.9% of surveyed business owners reporting inbound contact from a PE firm within the last 12 months.
- The share of business owners that require performance improvement support increased 3.4% compared to the prior year as CEOs seek to maintain margins and enhance operational efficiencies amid a difficult macroeconomic environment and ongoing trade headwinds.
- More than half (55.9%) of surveyed business owners plan to execute growth strategies over the next 12 months, signifying a shift away from managing financial stability towards teeing up for increased growth going into 2026.
- An unprecedented number of business owners are prepared for an exit (75.8%), a cohort that is expected to initiate a flood of pent-up middle market M&A.
- The share of CEOs with a very positive U.S. economic outlook has increased for the first time in five years, rising to 18.7% in 2025 as business owners receive clarity around interest rates and inflation.
- Business owners forecast continued revenue growth over the next 12 months—26.9% of CEOs project 2026 revenues to rise 1-9% YOY and 27.2% expect revenue growth of 10-25%—indicating steady near-term sales growth among many middle market businesses.
Through this research, Capstone has evaluated the health of the middle market in 2025, uncovering recent challenges faced by business owners and the resources required to offset these challenges. The report also provides an analysis of forward-looking growth strategies and initiatives, business owners’ outlooks on their respective industries and the broader U.S. economy, and expected revenue changes.
To access the full report including a breakout of the results by industry, click here.
Make your voice heard in our upcoming survey here.
ABOUT CAPSTONE PARTNERS
For over 20 years, the firm has been a trusted advisor to leading middle market companies, offering a fully integrated range of investment banking and financial advisory services uniquely tailored to help owners, investors, and creditors through each stage of the company’s lifecycle. Capstone’s services include M&A advisory, debt and equity placement, corporate restructuring, special situations, valuation and fairness opinions and financial advisory services. Headquartered in Boston, the firm has 175+ professionals in multiple offices across the U.S. With 12 dedicated industry groups, Capstone delivers sector-specific expertise through large, cross-functional teams. Capstone is a subsidiary of Huntington Bancshares Incorporated (NASDAQ:HBAN). For more information, visit www.capstonepartners.com.
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SOURCE Capstone Partners
