Kim Mercado for NEXT

Survey: Small business owners are less confident about year-end profits

Business owners are heading into the last quarter of 2025 — often the most important time of year for retail, e-commerce, restaurants and hospitality — with less confidence in profit growth expectations than this time last year, according to a recent NEXT Insurance survey.

This year, just under half of business owners (49%) expect their profits to increase, down from 55% in 2024. That six‑point drop may reflect that small business owners continue to grapple with rising uncertainty across demand, inflation, policy and costs.

In August, NEXT surveyed 1,500 business owners about their outlook and planning for the end of the year.

Inflation concerns among small business owners reached record hi

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