rewrite this title Small-Business Loan Data: How Revenue Shapes Funding – NerdWallet

Here’s what we found.

Sixty percent of approved borrowers sought loans to cover working capital needs (i.e., short-term costs like inventory, overhead or an emergency repair).

Among funded businesses with $100,000 to $249,999 in annual revenue, half said they were seeking financing to use as working capital.

And our data found that working capital wasn’t just a concern for lower-revenue businesses. Even seven-figure businesses needed help keeping operations moving.

More than 65% of funded businesses with $5 million or more in revenue sought funding for working capital.

As businesses scale, so do their costs. Payroll, software subscriptions, insurance, equipment repairs — it adds up. One slow month or quarter can put your business’s finances in a squeeze if you don’t have the cash on hand to cover those costs.

Smaller businesses often have more flexibility. Our data found that businesses with less than $500,000 in annual revenue balanced daily operating needs with growth-oriented investments, like expanding their business or buying equipment.

Working capital was also the leading funding need across industries in our study. General contractors, healthcare service providers and restaurant owners were the top industries that sought funding for working capital.

Approved borrowers in our study reported earning a median annual revenue of $900,000 between April 2025 and March 2026. This is in line with what borrowers reported in our 2026 annual survey report, which covered July 2024 to June 2025.

One thing that stands out in our data is the jump in reported revenue in the first quarter of 2026.

It’s hard to give a single reason for that increase, but one possible explanation is that a larger share of higher-revenue businesses simply needed funding in this time frame than in previous quarters.

Revenue can vary widely from business to business. Industry, location and customer demand all play a role.

Our data found that time in business mattered, too. Funded businesses that had been around for one to two years reported median annual revenue of $753,000. Those open for 11 years or more reported nearly $1 million in revenue.

This makes sense, as older businesses typically have more time to build customer bases, refine operations and grow sales.

Revenue also varied by industry. Wholesalers and healthcare businesses, which include doctors and dentists, were among the highest earners among top funded industries in our study.

When looking quarter-to-quarter, the revenue profiles of restaurants, general contractors and automotive supply and repair businesses stayed relatively stable. In contrast, construction, trucking and creative and marketing businesses showed larger quarter-to-quarter swings in what borrowers reported in annual revenue.

Businesses with more revenue tended to request (and receive) larger loans than lower-revenue businesses. They also tended to get a larger share of what they asked for.

The gap between what borrowers requested and what they ultimately received was widest among lower-revenue businesses.

While it’s normal for business owners to not get the full amount of funding they ask for, this could suggest a greater mismatch between how much funding smaller businesses think they need and how much they’re actually able to qualify for. It could also reflect lenders’ reluctance to extend large loan amounts to businesses with little revenue.

Borrowers with lower annual revenue also tended to have lower credit scores and shorter time in business than borrowers with higher-revenue businesses, our data found.

Even though businesses with more revenue tended to get larger loans in dollar terms, smaller businesses borrowed more relative to their annual sales.

That means lower-revenue businesses may be taking on a larger percentage of debt, even if the actual loan amounts are smaller.

Whether your business earns a little or a lot, it’s important to avoid asking for more than you need (or more than you’ll likely qualify for).

This study analyzes loan application data from small-business owners approved for financing through NerdWallet Small Business’s loans marketplace between April 2025 and March 2026. Applicants self-reported data for personal credit scores, business revenue, business start dates, funding purposes, industry information and loan amount requested. We also analyzed the actual amount applicants received and the type of business loan borrowers ended up with.

Note: The data reflects businesses that found funding through NerdWallet’s marketplace and is not representative of all U.S. small businesses or all small-business loan applicants.

About the author

Ryan Brady is a CFP® professional and lead writer at NerdWallet covering small-business lending and insurance. Ryan enjoys simplifying complex finance topics to help entrepreneurs make smarter decisions.

Before joining NerdWallet, Ryan ran a successful online retail business, giving him firsthand knowledge of the challenges and opportunities small-business owners face.

His work has appeared in TechCrunch, MarketWatch, Yahoo, Nasdaq and more.

He is based in Fort Myers, Florida.

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