Economy – Croixstone

Insights into the Middle Market

Croixstone is laser focused on providing expertise to serve the middle market, defined as those companies with annual revenues between $10 million and $1 billion. T he National Center for the Middle Market recently published new data and insights on this important sector of the economy that we found interesting.

While representing barely 3% of all U.S. businesses, the middle market is responsible for 1/3 of private sector GDP and employment.

If the U.S. middle market were its own country, it would be the fifth-largest economy in the world.

During the pre-pandemic era from 2012-2019, average revenue growth for midsize companies was 6.5% and average employment growth was 4.3%.

A Q4 2020 middle market survey showed that average revenue declined by 1.2% and employment dropped by 2.2% over the prior 12 months.

While the pandemic negatively impacted the middle market, the sector overall performed better than small businesses and large corporations.

Middle market companies are typically very resilient, however, the ongoing pandemic presents a serious challenge on how to maintain customer engagement and connectivity.

Learn more here.

Fresh Links…September 25th

A curated list of business, career and community links.

The Big 7: U NC says these 7 factors are permanently reshaping the US economy.

Crate & Barrel: A new distribution center in Catawba County for this global specialty retailer.

The Final Four: T he coolest things made in NC.

Fresh Links…Spotlight on South Carolina

A curated list of business, career and community links.

Top 50: The 50 largest employers in South Carolina.
York County: Th e top 20 largest employers.
Lancaster County: The top 20 largest employers.
Chester County: The top 20 largest employers.
Chesterfield County: The top 20 largest employers.

Spotlight on South Carolina

South Carolina plays an important role in driving the Charlotte region’s economy. Four of the state’s counties are members of the Charlotte Regional Business Alliance’s Economic Development Advisory Council. These counties include: Chester, Chesterfield, Lancaster and York.

For the 11th consecutive year, South Carolina has earned a top stop in Area Development magazine’s list of “Top States for Doing Business in 2020.” South Carolina made the annual list at #3 (behind third place Georgia and second place Tennessee and ahead of fifth place North Carolina).

Read Area Development magazine’s 2020 rankings here.

Fresh Links – June 9th Edition

A curated list of business, career and community links with a focus on positivity.

The pandemic isn’t over – especially in NC + SC.

5 charts that track the U.S. economy amid reopening progress.

U.S. aviation industry could take four years to reach pre-COVID levels.

D eloitte cuts 5,000 jobs.

H ow consulting will likely change because of the pandemic.

T he interesting history of NoDa – Croixstone’s new home.

Financial Modeling + Stress Testing

PwC surveyed 50 U.S. and Mexico finance leaders last week to gain insights into how COVID-19 is likely to impact their companies. 40% of the survey participants said they were facing difficulty in assessing the impact.

That difficulty is understandable. That said, now is the right time for CEOs, CFOs and other leaders to embrace the uncertainty and leverage financial modeling and stress testing to help in reassessing near-term priorities.

We can help.

What’s Driving Concord?

Last month, WalletHub named Concord, NC among the top 20 fastest-growing economies in the nation. Learn more about Concord and the companies driving its economy here.

ISM’s Report on Business

The Institute For Supply Management‘s Manufacturing “Report On Business” is often cited as a key barometer of the economy. The organization released its latest report on September 3, 2019 with statistics showing that manufacturing activity has shifted into reverse last month for the first time in three years.

Learn About ISM’s “Report On Business”

The Gig Economy Goes Global

This past summer, Morgan Stanley published research on the growing global gig economy. The study shared that the USA’s freelance workforce has grown three times faster than the overall workforce. Freelancers today represent about 35% of the total U.S. working population, and Morgan Stanley shared that this number could represent more than 50% of the nation’s workforce by 2027. R ead a high-level overview of the stud y to learn more about the drivers behind today’s gig economy.