More U.S. businesses are reporting profits and increased hiring, with greater confidence in their ability to grow over the next 12 months, according to new results from the third quarter 2017 “Private Capital Access (PCA) Index” report from Dun & Bradstreet and Pepperdine Graziadio School of Business and Management. In Q3 2017, 63% of all businesses said they were profitable, up from 56% in Q3 2016, a 12% increase year over year. In terms of growth, 87% said they are extremely or somewhat confident their business will grow this year compared to 80% in Q3 2016. However, demand for financing for planned growth or expansion, including acquisitions not yet realized, was down from 66% in Q2 2017 to 62% in Q3 2017.

This report is part of Pepperdine’s Private Capital Markets Project, which conducts ongoing research to understand the true cost of private capital across market types and the investment expectations of privately held business owners. The Q3 2017 Index report was derived from 1,176 completed responses collected from July 31, 2017, to Aug. 18, 2017.