February Small Business Pulse

Chase Center for Economic Intelligence

February 20, 2026

What we're seeing

• Profitability stabilizes: Profitability remains positive and up year-over-year for the median Chase business, indicating that businesses are still well-positioned to weather financial shocks.
• Sentiment stays elevated: Small business optimism surged last December and is still high in January relative to last year.
• Payroll growth declines: While payroll growth ticked up in December, it slowed in January, suggesting a longer road to full labor demand among businesses.
• Volatile cash flows pose risk to businesses: Cash flow volatility among all businesses has stayed fairly steady the past year, but those with greater volatility face a greater array of financial challenges.