Middle Market Sentiment Report: July 2025
How 762 decision-makers plan to grow through volatility
Tariffs shifting, rates rising, AI exploding — yet 200,000 companies generating a third of U.S. GDP keep charting paths to growth. Our new Middle Market Sentiment Report distills in-depth survey responses from 762 owners and executives of businesses with $10 million to $1 billion in annual revenue into a clear snapshot of 2025 priorities: where they’ll spend, where they’ll save, and how they’ll guard against risk.
Inside the report you’ll learn:
- Why 72% of executives still rate their own outlook “excellent” or “very good,” even as tariffs, inflation, and interest rates threaten growth plans.
- Where fresh dollars are headed first — AI pilots, automation upgrades, and stronger cyber defenses — and who’s boosting security budgets by 20% or more.
- How nearly half of firms intend to stay on the buy-side of M&A while sellers tee up potential 2027 exits.
- What’s driving a resurgence in check fraud and the controls cutting losses fastest.
- Which outside funding sources — private equity, commercial lenders, venture capital — middle market CFOs trust most in a higher-cost environment.
