Growth stronger than non-Latino owned businesses

The average revenue of Latino-owned businesses improved 46.5% in 2019, increasing to $479,413 from $327,189 in 2018, according to an annual study by Biz2Credit. Meanwhile, the number of credit applications from Latino-owned businesses increased by 23% over the past 12 months.

The study, which examined the primary financial information submitted by 3,000 Latino-owned businesses on Biz2Credit’s online platform, also revealed that while revenues climbed, the average credit scores Latino-owned businesses dipped to 588 from 594 last year.

“Latino-owned businesses have grown 31.6% since 2012, and our research finds that revenues of Latino-owned companies jumped 23% from 2017-18,” said Rohit Arora, CEO of Biz2Credit, who oversaw the research. “Cost management is a challenge for young and growing firms, which can factor into the dip in credit scores. Latino businesses are thriving and expanding, and they help contribute to the overall strength of the U.S. economy.”

“The growth of Latino businesses is undeniable and will undoubtedly increase as this important group becomes a larger section of the population. By 2050, Latinos are expected to comprise almost 30% of the population, compared to 18% today,” said Manuel Chinea, COO, Popular Bank.

“We see first-hand the enormous contribution these businesses make to our economy and communities, and Popular Bank works with them as the complexity of running their business increases,” Chinea added.

Key Findings

• Average Annual Revenue of Latino-owned business increased to $479,413 in 2019, with an improvement of 46.5% from $327,189 in 2018.
• The number of credit applications from Latino-owned businesses increased by 23% over the past 12 months. However, they comprise only 9% of the total number of applications submitted last year.
• The average credit score for Latinos slightly dipped from 594 in 2017-18 to 588 last year.
• Accommodation and Food Services remains the largest category of businesses represented nearly 18% of the Latino-owned companies in the study. Services (except Public Administration) were at 17%, Construction came in at close to 15%, Retail Trade was 10%, and Transportation and Warehousing represented 8% of the businesses.
• Average annual revenue for Latino-owned businesses ($479,413) was $25,067 lower than Non-Latino-owned companies ($590,110) in 2018-19.
• Average operating expenses represents 45% ($215,846) of the Average Annual Revenue ($479,413) for Latino-owned businesses, which was 43% ($140,806) in 2018. The rise of nearly 3 percent is observed in average operating expense of non-Latino businesses which is 40.6% (2019) from 38% in 2018.
• California was the state where the most loan applications originated (23.5%), followed by Texas (20%), New York (7%), Florida (6%) and New Jersey (5%).

“While generally, the picture has been rosy for Latino businesses, it is a little concerning that credit scores dropped from the previous year,” Arora said. “This would seem to indicate that business owners may be using their own personal credit cards to fund their business growth if their companies did not qualify for loans. When credit scores are less than 600, it is hard to get traditional bank loans.”

Rafael Diaz owns a thriving restaurant and catering business in Geneva, New York (population: 13,000), called El Morro Restaurant. The eatery features authentic recipes he learned from his mother as a child, when he was the youngest of 23 siblings. Among the top-selling menu items are pulled pork, arroz con pollo, and beef and chicken empanadas, and fried plantains. With Biz2Credit’s help, Diaz applied for funding and secured cash advances of $8,000 and $7,000, which he used for working capital and for equipment purchases that he used to build out and decorate the restaurant.

Estimates from the Stanford Latino Entrepreneurship Initiative (SLEI) found that only 3% of Latino-owned businesses grow to $1,000,000 or more in annual revenues, compared to 6% of white-owned businesses. Despite impressive numbers of startups, Latino-owned firms tend to stay smaller longer.