Industries with Most Risky Business Environments in the US in 2025

1. Telecommunication Networking Equipment Manufacturing in the US

Business Environment Risk for 2025: 7.20

The Telecommunications Networking Equipment Manufacturing industry produces wired telecommunication equipment including network switches, routers, modems and gateways. This industry has experienced consistent declines in revenue over the years to 2023 despite an increasing number of broadband connections and a rising number of consumers that have acquired computers. Domestic demand for telecommunication network equipment products has greatly declined in the period, with a significant amount of demand satisfied by imports. The industry also experienced significant declines in revenue in 2020 because of volatility in the global economic environment brought on by the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic. Revenue has plummeted, declining at a... Learn More

2. Casting Agencies in the US

Business Environment Risk for 2025: 7.14

Casting agencies play an intermediary role between producers and talent agencies. When the producer of a film, TV series, advertisement or other media project requires an actor with specific physical characteristics or acting skills, they reach out to a casting agency to provide candidates. Casting directors then send out requests to talent agencies for actors with matching traits. Talent agents submit available matching candidates to casting directors for an audition, in which the director evaluates the skills of the actor. Casting directors' expertise lies in their ability to spot strong candidates that also match the specific requests of the project's... Learn More

3. Chicken & Turkey Meat Production in the US

Business Environment Risk for 2025: 7.08

Positive trends in demand variables and near constant demand from poultry processors along with a recovery in the price of poultry meat in 2021 have led to rising industry revenue over the five years to 2023. Additionally, increased demand for chicken as a substitute for other meats, particularly red meat, helped limit revenue declines amid the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, increasing health consciousness among US consumers has boosted consumption of white meat in general. A rising price of feed from a low prior to the period has also driven growth. As feed is the largest input cost for meat producers,... Learn More

4. Corn Farming in the US

Business Environment Risk for 2025: 6.96

Revenue for the corn farming industry has been volatile over the past five years as corn prices and demand have fluctuated dramatically. The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic caused a downturn in revenue as the supply chain backed up products were left unsold, but massive increases in exports and boosted oil production caused revenue to skyrocket in 2021 and 2022. As a result of these outliers, revenue has risen an annualized 10.1% to $94.7 billion over the five years to 2023, including an increase of 0.3% in 2023 alone.

Domestic supply remained consistent through COVID-19 as a reduction in production from... Learn More

5. Corn, Wheat & Soybean Wholesaling in the US

Business Environment Risk for 2025: 6.92

Corn, wheat and soybean wholesalers distribute grains, such as corn, rice, wheat, dry beans and soybeans, which are essentials in most Americans' diets. Due to their necessary nature and the fact that households are typically unable to dramatically change their food preferences in the short run, the COVID-19 recession didn't drastically reduce revenue for wholesalers. Many companies endured some decline in sales because of falling demand from retail and manufacturing markets, so they still decided to reduce their capacity. As spending surged during the pandemic recovery, wholesalers, farmers and other industry operators couldn't increase their supply to match demand. Prices... Learn More

6. Regional Banks in the US

Business Environment Risk for 2025: 6.88

Regional banks are composed of commercial banks that have between $50.0 billion and $500.0 billion in domestic asset under management (AUM) and operations are not limited to one state. Banks that fall into this threshold provide the same services that the commercial banking industry provides. Also, regional banks have a significantly smaller scope of operations compared with large commercial banks that operate across the country.

Through the end of 2023, operators in regional banks have benefited due to increased consumer confidence and consumer debt levels. This coincided with the Federal Reserve raising the Federal Funds Rate (FFR) during the early portion... Learn More

7. Soybean Farming in the US

Business Environment Risk for 2025: 6.86

The Soybean Farming industry is historically volatile. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, industry revenue had declined because of falling exports to China. In 2018, the US and China entered a trade war brought on by the US imposing tariffs on Chinese steel. The Chinese government responded by placing significant tariffs on US soybeans. China has historically been a major importer of soybeans, so these tariffs resulted in revenue declines for industry growers. However, in 2020, exports of soybeans surged as global supply chain disruptions increased demand for soybeans in other countries. Meanwhile, as the US economy moved beyond the pandemic in... Learn More

8. Printing in the US

Business Environment Risk for 2025: 6.82

Printing is in the midst of a decline as digital products and services continue to displace printed materials. The two largest markets, advertising and publishing, have both accelerated their moves online, reducing demand for printing. Declining corporate profit amid widespread shutdowns due to COVID-19 has decreased overall advertising expenditure. These two trends have reduced print advertising expenditure, which has fallen at a CAGR of 10.7% through the end of 2023. Other products, such as retail catalogs and banking forms, have also experienced low demand due to the increased prevalence of e-commerce and online financial transactions. Printing revenue has fallen at... Learn More

9. Oilseed Farming in the US

Business Environment Risk for 2025: 6.80

The Oilseed Farming industry produces mainly canola, sunflower and flaxseed, and is small compared with other agriculture sector industries. This causes industry conditions to fluctuate significantly in line with changes in the US agricultural sector at large, based on both global and domestic supply conditions. Industry revenue also generally moves in line with changes in the price of oilseeds. Many US farmers can choose to grow other crops, such as corn or soybeans, in any given year depending on expected yields and price, causing drastic fluctuations in the planted acreage and harvests of oilseeds. As a result, industry revenue has... Learn More

10. Metal Wholesaling in the US

Business Environment Risk for 2025: 6.78

Metal wholesalers purchase primary metal products in bulk from manufacturers and distribute them to markets on a customized basis. The primary metals they deal with are iron, steel and nonferrous metals including copper or aluminum. Success in this industry hinges on downstream production and the prices of metals. Shifts in the prices of metals have a mixed impact on the industry, as higher prices increase purchase costs, but make up for it by having a higher resale value. Low prices reduce the cost of stocking up but come with the chance of not providing a sufficient return to turn a... Learn More