Sageworks Blog

May19

4 Reasons private companies matter Mary Ellen Biery [email] Research Specialist

May 19, 2013 09:00

Wall Street may get the headlines, but did you know that of the 27 million businesses in the U.S., less than 1 percent are publicly traded on the major exchanges? The rest are privately held, and these private companies represent a vital segment of the U.S. economy. Here are four reasons to learn more about private companies. [More]

Apr19

Sageworks hosts Private Company Outlook event in NYC Jackie Peluso [email] VP of Media Relations

Apr 19, 2013 12:25

Due to the limited data available about their performance, private companies are rarely the focus of national news. But private companies will be highlighted at an upcoming, New York City event.
On April 30th, members of the media, business executives and other financial professionals will gather for the Private Company Outlook event to hear the latest information on the current health of U.S. privately held companies. Private companies, which create over 65% of new jobs and more than 50% of GDP, are the driving force of the U.S. economy. [More]

Apr14

Benchmark your business & win the horse race Libby Bierman [email] Analyst

Apr 14, 2013 17:35

Maybe it’s an inherent competitiveness or just the pursuit of improvement, but it’s commonplace for people to seek out benchmarks they can use to assess their relative position or performance. It interests people to know how they compare to their peers. Benchmarks have a place in business, too, and can be an invaluable instrument to help business owners succeed. Compare running a business to running in a horse race. [More]

Mar21

Indicators of retailers’ health improving Mary Ellen Biery [email] Research Specialist

Mar 21, 2013 10:19

Sales, profitability and other indicators of privately held retailers’ health are showing improvement, according to data from Sageworks. [More]

Feb 21, 2013 12:56

Gas prices continue to rise, but interestingly enough, only a small portion of the profit is actually going into the pockets of gas station owners. According to data from Sageworks, private gas stations have lower net profit margins than the average private company.

“The average private company is making roughly eight cents of profit for every dollar of revenue brought in,” said Sageworks analyst Libby Bierman. “The owners of privately held gas stations, however, are making less than three cents for every dollar. In fact, for at least each of the past ten years, the industry has had a net profit margin of less than 3 percent, at times as low as 1 percent.” [More]

Feb21

Spotlight on manufacturing trends Mary Ellen Biery [email] Research Specialist

Feb 21, 2013 10:09

Manufacturing has been a relative bright spot in the economy since the recession, and President Obama earlier this month called for new efforts to boost manufacturing. So what is the “State of the Union” for privately held manufacturing companies? Sageworks takes a look at sales, profitability trends. [More]

Jan10

Watch these fast-growing industries in 2013 Mary Ellen Biery [email] Research Specialist

Jan 10, 2013 09:59

Sageworks, a financial information company, is out with a list of fast-growing industries that bear watching in 2013. A financial statement analysis of privately held companies in Sageworks’ database shows that over the last 12 months, many of the fastest growing industries are tied to manufacturing. That’s not surprising considering the pivotal role manufacturing has played in the economic recovery so far. [More]

Nov 06, 2012 09:48

This guest post by Chris Call, partner with B2B CFO, summarizes best strategies for analyzing business expenses and the "why" behind the numbers. Chris discusses the importance of industry comparisons and how he helped a business owner save more than $100,000 per year using ProfitCents by Sageworks. [More]

Oct22

Gas prices higher, but station-owner profits slim Mary Ellen Biery [email] Research Specialist

Oct 22, 2012 08:55

High gasoline prices got you down? Gasoline prices in California have been so high recently that some gas station owners have closed up shop rather than lose money, according to published reports. Data from Sageworks, a financial information company, sheds light on why things might be tough for gas stations, particularly those in parts of the U.S. where gas prices have soared to around $4.66 a gallon, on average. [More]

Sep 26, 2012 12:48

When the Census Bureau releases the August report on durable goods manufacturing Thursday, it’s a fair bet that privately held companies will have played a key role in the numbers. After all, private U.S. firms account for 54.5 percent of aggregate non-residential fixed investment. But how are privately held companies faring in general in the current environment? [More]