Growth benchmark · 12 sectors
Revenue Growth Rate by Industry and Sector: 2025 Benchmarks
Revenue growth is the cleanest measure of demand for a company's products — but a "good" rate is entirely relative to the sector. Technology leads at a 10–18% median; Utilities and REITs grow 2–4% and are healthy doing so. This table shows the median, 25th percentile, and 75th percentile year-over-year revenue growth for 12 sectors, so you can benchmark any company against its industry peers. Screen for the fastest and slowest growers with the Revenue Growth Screener.
2024 data · 12 sectors
Revenue Growth Rate Benchmarks by Sector
| Sector | Median Revenue Growth | Low (25th pct) | High (75th pct) | YoY Trend Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Technology | 14% | 7% | 22% | Cloud, AI infrastructure, and software franchises drive the fastest top lines; hardware and mature semis sit lower, while high-growth SaaS names still clear 20%+. |
| Healthcare | 8% | 4% | 13% | Branded pharma and med-tech compound steadily; hospital operators and distributors grow with volume and pricing near GDP-plus. |
| Communication Services | 6% | 2% | 11% | Digital advertising and streaming platforms lead; legacy telecom carriers grow low single digits on saturated, capex-heavy markets. |
| Consumer Discretionary | 5% | 1% | 10% | E-commerce and travel names run hotter; auto OEMs, apparel, and big-box retail track discretionary spending and cycle sensitivity. |
| Industrials | 5% | 2% | 9% | Aerospace, automation, and electrification pull growth up; freight, construction, and short-cycle machinery track the broader economy. |
| Financials | 6% | 2% | 10% | Fee-based exchanges and asset managers grow with markets; banks track net interest income and loan growth, both rate-sensitive. |
| Consumer Staples | 4% | 1% | 7% | Growth is mostly pricing plus modest volume; premium and emerging-market exposure lifts the leaders above the low-single-digit norm. |
| Materials | 4% | 1% | 7% | Specialty chemicals and packaging grow with industrial demand; results swing with input costs and end-market volumes. |
| Real Estate (REITs) | 3% | 0% | 6% | Revenue (rental income) grows through rent escalators, occupancy, and development; data-center and industrial REITs lead, retail and office lag. |
| Energy | 5% | -8% | 20% | Highly cyclical: revenue swings with oil and gas prices, not units — a 20%+ up-year at high prices can flip to a double-digit decline when prices roll over. |
| Utilities | 3% | 1% | 5% | Regulated rate-base growth plus modest demand gains; the most stable and predictable top line of any sector, rarely above mid-single digits. |
| Basic Materials (Metals & Mining) | 4% | -2% | 9% | Commodity-price driven and deeply cyclical: metals, mining, and forest products can post strong growth mid-cycle and outright declines at the trough. |
What Is a Good Revenue Growth Rate?
Revenue growth — the year-over-year change in total revenue — is the cleanest single measure of demand for a company's products and services. It sits at the very top of the income statement, before any cost, interest, or tax effects, so it reflects market traction and pricing power more directly than any bottom-line metric. But "good" is entirely relative to the sector: a 5% growth rate is disappointing for a software company and excellent for a regulated utility.
Above 10% — Strong growth. The company is expanding materially faster than nominal GDP, typically by taking market share, launching successful products, or riding a structural tailwind like cloud, AI, or electrification. This pace is common in Technology and parts of Healthcare and Communication Services. The key question is whether the growth is profitable and durable, or bought with heavy discounting and cash burn.
5–10% — Moderate growth. The company is growing faster than the broad economy but not explosively. This is the sweet spot for many mature Industrials, Financials, and Consumer Discretionary businesses — enough to compound value without the volatility of hyper-growth. Pair the rate with margin trends to confirm the growth is translating into earnings, not just top line.
Below 5% — Slow growth. Growth is at or below the rate of nominal economic expansion. This is normal and expected for Consumer Staples, Utilities, and REITs, where revenue grows through pricing, rate-base increases, and modest volume gains rather than share capture. For these sectors, a stable low-single-digit growth rate paired with reliable cash flow is a feature, not a weakness — the value comes from predictability, not acceleration.
Always compare a company's revenue growth to its sector median above, not to a universal threshold — and confirm whether the growth is organic or acquisition-driven, since M&A can flatter the reported top line without underlying momentum. A Utility at 3% is right on target; a Software company at 3% deserves a hard look at whether its market is saturating.
How to Use This Data
1. Benchmark within the sector, never across
Growth norms span more than 10 percentage points across sectors. Identify the company's GICS sector, find its median in the table above, then judge whether it sits in the low, mid, or high part of the range. Comparing a Technology company's growth to a Utility's produces false signals in both directions. Screen for peers with the revenue growth screener.
2. Read the trend, not just the level
A company accelerating from 6% to 12% is gaining momentum; one decelerating from 15% to 8% may be facing saturation or tougher comparisons — even though 8% still looks healthy in isolation. Look at several quarters of year-over-year growth to separate a durable trajectory from a single strong or weak print, and check whether the change is organic or acquisition-driven.
3. Pair growth with profitability and returns
Top-line growth only creates value if it earns a return above the cost of capital. A company growing 20% while burning cash can be worth less than one growing 6% with expanding margins. Cross-check revenue growth against margin trends and return on invested capital benchmarks to confirm the growth is profitable.
Common questions
Revenue growth rate by industry — answered directly.
What is a good revenue growth rate by industry?
A good revenue growth rate depends entirely on the sector. Technology companies growing above 10% are performing well, while a utility or consumer-staples business at 3–4% is right on target for its category. The right benchmark is always the sector median — comparing a fast-growing software company to a regulated utility is a category error. As a rough guide across the market: above 10% is strong, 5–10% is moderate, and below 5% is slow — but only after you have placed the company against its own industry's median in the table above.
How is revenue growth rate calculated?
Revenue growth rate = (current-period revenue − prior-period revenue) ÷ prior-period revenue, expressed as a percentage. Year-over-year (YoY) growth compares the most recent period to the same period a year earlier, which removes seasonality. For multi-year context, analysts also use the compound annual growth rate (CAGR), which smooths the average annual growth across several years. For example, revenue rising from $1.0B to $1.14B is 14% YoY growth. Always confirm whether a figure is organic growth or includes acquisitions, since M&A can inflate reported top-line growth without underlying business momentum.
Why do Technology companies grow faster than Utilities?
Technology sits at the top of the growth range because its products scale with near-zero marginal cost, address large and expanding markets (cloud, AI, software), and can win share quickly without proportional capital. Utilities sit at the bottom because they operate regulated, mature markets where revenue grows mainly through approved rate-base increases and slow demand gains — structurally capped in the low single digits. Neither figure is 'better': a 3% utility growth rate paired with predictable cash flow can be more valuable than volatile double-digit growth, depending on valuation and risk.
Is revenue growth or the trend more important?
The trend usually matters more than a single figure. A company accelerating from 6% to 12% growth over several quarters is gaining share, entering new markets, or benefiting from a product cycle — often a leading indicator of rising earnings power. A company decelerating from 15% to 8%, even from a high base, deserves investigation: is it market saturation, competition, or a tough prior-year comparison? Because revenue is the top line, it is also the cleanest signal of demand before cost and financing effects distort the picture — pair it with margin and return-on-invested-capital trends to judge whether growth is profitable.
Related Tools & Resources
Revenue Growth Screener
Screen for companies above or below revenue growth thresholds across all sectors to find the fastest and slowest growers against their peers.
Return on Invested Capital Guide
Growth only creates value when it earns a return above the cost of capital — use ROIC benchmarks to confirm a company's growth is profitable.
Net Margin by Industry
Pair revenue growth with net margin benchmarks to see whether top-line gains are reaching the bottom line across each sector.
Gross Margin by Industry
Compare production-level profitability by sector to understand the economics behind each industry's growth potential.
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