December 2025 WSJ/Vistage Small Business Confidence Index Climbs into the New Year
- Scott Thurber
- Jan 10
- 2 min read
The December WSJ/Vistage Small Business CEO Confidence Index was calculated from an online survey sent to CEOs and other key leaders who are active U.S. Vistage members. The survey, conducted between December 1 and 15, 2025, collected data from 602 respondents with annual revenues ranging from $1 million to $20 million. The Index is calculated based on favorable minus unfavorable responses from this set of standard questions, plus 100, anchored to June 2012 = 100.Current Economy: Sentiment about the current economy has stabilized, with 22% of small business leaders reporting they believe the U.S. economy has improved over the past year. In contrast, the proportion that believes it is worse holds at 43%.
Future Economy: Looking ahead, sentiment among small business leaders is shifting toward the positive. A third (33%) believe the economy will improve, while 26% believe it will worsen in the next 12 months.
Revenue Projections: Optimistic revenue projections continue to climb, with nearly 7 in 10 (69%) of small business leaders anticipating revenue growth in the year ahead. Meanwhile, just 8% anticipate revenue declines, a 3-point change from last month.
Profitability Projections: Matching the increase in revenue projections, the proportion of small business leaders expecting increased profitability rose to 57% in November, a 15-point increase from last month. More notably, the proportion of those who expect declines drops 10 points to 15%.
Fixed Investment Plans: Fixed investment plans have remained stable all year; one-third (33%) of small businesses plan to increase fixed investments in the next 12 months, while 13% expect to scale back.
Workforce Expansion Plans: Workforce expansion plans continued to rise, with nearly 6 in 10 (59%) small business leaders indicating that they plan to add staff in the next 12 months. Notably, just 5% are planning reductions, reversing a trend in workforce contraction that the data revealed through the spring and summer months.
