In This Issue:
• Full Digital Brief and PDF (Link at bottom of Scroll)
• Executive Summary Deck (Link at bottom of Scroll)
• Listen to the Podcast

By now you have heard or seen the research released earlier this year (2026), by UCLA and California Lutheran University which placed our U.S. Latino GDP at $4.4 trillion in 2024. [1] That economic strength creates a compelling question: beyond notable consumerism, what steps can be taken now to accelerate, expand, and leverage this economic influence and opportunity for U.S. Latino business owners?  This issue of the Dinero Habla Market Intelligence Brief examines that question and identifies priorities for advancing U.S. Latino entrepreneurship, ownership and enterprise growth in 2027 and beyond.

In preparing this month’s issue, I’ve reviewed and analyzed new studies, government reports, and extensive business and academic research on U.S. Latino business ownership. The brief draws on business activity and survey findings from 2023 through 2025, including research published in 2026. Sources are cited throughout. The evidence shows encouraging growth in the number of Latino-owned employer businesses, a substantial contribution from Latina entrepreneurs, and interest in acquisitions as a path to expansion. It also reveals financing and operating challenges that deserve greater attention and more decisive action. I’ve identified five priorities in support of U.S. Latino entrepreneurship and enterprise acceleration for 2027 and beyond:

Advancing these priorities requires more deliberate connections between entrepreneurs and the people and institutions that can support their ambitions. As you read this brief, consider: Are we preparing Latina and younger owners to secure financing and pursue acquisitions? Are we helping U.S. Latino businesses put AI to work? Are we developing productive relationships with Latin American partners?

Dinero Habla calls for lenders, educators and business leaders to make these opportunities a more explicit part of how they serve and invest in U.S. Latino enterprise. My hope is that this brief helps owners recognize some practical next steps and gives lenders, educators, technology providers and marketers a clearer understanding of whom to serve and how. Dinero Habla’s mission is to make those opportunities visible and help more people pursue them with preparation and confidence.

Thank you,
Fernando De Los Reyes
Publisher, Dinero Habla
[email protected] | 561.352.4601

ES: Executive Summary
Part I: Ownership and Economic Scale
Part II: Financing, Financial Performance and Lasting Value
Part III: The Next Generation of U.S. Latino Enterprise
Part IV: AI and Digital Readiness
Part V: Serving the Next Stage of Latino Enterprise
Part VI: Dinero Habla’s Agenda for Action
SM: Sources and Methodology

2. Employer-business growth is substantial.
From 2017 to 2023, the net increase in Hispanic-owned employer firms was approximately 3.6 times the non-Hispanic increase. This expanding employer base creates demand for financing, payroll services, employee benefits and management support suited to firms’ size and stage of development. [6]

3. Financing outcomes remain uneven.
Among surveyed applicants, 33% of Hispanic-owned employer firms received all requested financing, compared with 57% of White-owned firms. Lenders and advisers should examine whether financing products match business needs, use applicant feedback and observation to improve the application experience, and provide clear guidance after partial approvals or denials. [5]

4. Financial health needs attention.
Only 35% of surveyed Hispanic-owned employer firms reported a profit at the end of 2024. Before expanding, owners should assess whether additional sales will generate sufficient profit and whether available cash and financing can cover costs until customers pay. [5]

5. Latina entrepreneurs are contributing to employer growth.
Latina-owned firms accounted for approximately one-third of the net Hispanic employer-firm increase from 2017 to 2023. Corporate buyers, lenders and business advisers can support this growth by connecting Latina employers with procurement opportunities, expansion financing and guidance on managing larger teams. [6]

6. Owners have a younger age profile.
Nearly 63% of Hispanic employer-business owners were under 55. Ownership education should prepare younger entrepreneurs to start a company, acquire an existing business or take over a family enterprise. [6]

7. Immigrant owners are central to the picture.
More than half of Hispanic owners in both employer and nonemployer data were foreign-born. Lenders, educators and business partners should assess the operating experience, commercial relationships and financing needs immigrant owners bring to their businesses. [6]

8. Acquisitions and international markets expand the possibilities.
Stanford found that 38% of surveyed Latino-owned employer businesses were considering acquisitions. Separately, Census data show that exporters represented about 2% of Hispanic-owned employer firms but generated approximately 16% of their total revenue, including domestic and export sales. Acquisition preparation should address valuation, purchase financing and management continuity; export preparation should address market selection, distribution and payment arrangements. [7–8]

9. AI use and integration require different support.
Compared with White-owned employer firms, Hispanic-owned employer firms reported lower AI adoption overall but higher full integration among those already using AI. Technology providers and advisers should help owners apply AI to a defined business process, train employees and measure the results. [5]

10. Latino enterprise creates commercial opportunities. Latino business owners’ decisions about financing, technology, equipment and professional services create opportunities for other entrepreneurs, enterprises and organizations prepared to support these businesses’ growth. DH also proposes examining how Latin American companies and investors could participate in their expansion, a strategic opportunity requiring further investigation.

U.S. Latino-owned businesses encompass millions of independent owners and nearly half a million employers. Understanding their different operating needs is essential to supporting their next stage.

In 2023, approximately 5.3 million Hispanic-owned nonemployer businesses generated $244.2 billion in receipts. Nearly 496,000 employer firms generated $730.3 billion, supported 3.82 million employees and paid $160.2 billion in annual payroll. [2–4]

For data clarity, note: Nonemployer businesses have no paid employees. They include independent contractors and other owner-operated firms. Some owners seek professional independence and reliable income; others plan to hire. Hiring a first employee introduces additional responsibilities such as payroll administration, performance standards and supervision; growing a team requires more deliberate workforce planning and management of both individual and team performance.

Employer firms account for fewer than one in ten Hispanic-owned businesses but generate approximately three-quarters of their combined revenue, underscoring the economic importance of helping owners who want to hire and expand. Effective support should reflect each business’s profitability, operating capacity and ownership objectives, alongside its employment status.

Businesses with 20 or more employees represented approximately 0.6% of all Hispanic-owned employer and nonemployer firms, yet generated 39.1% of their combined revenue. [3–4]

This concentration gives lenders and business organizations a reason to support firms preparing to expand. A larger contract may require working capital, additional equipment or a manager who can coordinate delivery. Industry also shapes these requirements: a contractor financing materials faces different demands from a professional firm adding a specialist.

This analysis groups firms with at least 20 employees to show their share of business activity; the appropriate size for an individual business depends on its economics and the owner’s goals. A profitable independent business can meet its owner’s goals. For firms seeking expansion, revenue, employment and payroll help reveal progress beyond the number of businesses established.

Growth creates opportunity when a business can finance its commitments, retain earnings and continue serving customers. Financing access and financial health therefore belong in the same discussion.

In the Federal Reserve’s 2025 survey, 68% of Hispanic-owned employer firms sought financing, compared with 59% of White-owned firms. Among nonapplicants, 21% of Hispanic-owned firms were discouraged from applying, compared with 8% of White-owned firms. These percentages describe different respondent groups. [5]

Among applicants for loans, lines of credit or merchant cash advances, only one-third of Hispanic-owned firms received all the financing requested. The full-approval gap was 24 percentage points. [5]

Owners need understandable requirements and relevant preparation. Lenders should regularly review product fit and the application experience, using applicant interviews, observation and completion data to identify where owners encounter unclear requirements, documentation difficulties or delays. Findings should guide improvements to online and staff-assisted applications, including clearer feedback after partial approvals or denials. Receiving less financing than needed can force an owner to reduce, delay or reconsider a planned expansion.

At the end of 2024, 35% of surveyed Hispanic-owned employer firms reported a profit, 24% broke even and 41% reported a loss. [5]

A new contract can increase sales while putting immediate pressure on cash. Materials and wages may be due weeks before the customer pays. If pricing fails to cover the work, additional sales can deepen a loss.

Before expanding, owners should identify which customers and services produce an adequate margin, how long collections take and whether available cash can cover additional work. Advisers can help connect those answers to pricing, payment terms and a realistic financing request.

Lasting value depends partly on whether the business can function when its founder steps back. Repeat customers, accessible records, documented processes and employees authorized to make decisions can support continuity.

Owners can begin by asking whether someone else has the information, authority and training to serve customers, coordinate employees and manage routine operations during their absence. Addressing the gaps can improve delegation today and help a future buyer or family successor understand the company. These capabilities do not guarantee a sale or valuation.

Hispanic entrepreneurs added more than 173,000 net employer firms from 2017 through 2023, compared with slightly more than 48,000 among non-Hispanic entrepreneurs. That increase in firm counts was approximately 3.6 times as large, according to Third Way’s analysis of Census data. [6]

Latina-owned firms accounted for approximately one-third of net Hispanic employer-firm increase. Their combined revenue nearly doubled from 2020 to 2023. [6]

Latina-owned firms’ contribution to employer growth warrants deliberate attention in supplier development, lending and business education. These efforts should help more Latina owners qualify for contracts, finance delivery and build the management capacity to handle larger commitments.

Hispanic employer-business owners also have a younger age profile than their non-Hispanic counterparts. Nearly 63% of Hispanic owners in the employer-owner data were under 55, compared with fewer than half of non-Hispanic owners. [6]

While these figures describe current owners’ ages, they do not measure younger Latinos’ intentions to become business owners. Educators, lenders and experienced owners can help prepare the next generation of entrepreneurs, buyers and successors to build businesses and lasting family legacies through financial education, operating experience and mentoring focused on starting a company, evaluating an acquisition or taking over a family business.

Foreign-born Latinos represented approximately 52% of Hispanic employer-business owners and 57% of Hispanic nonemployer owners. (These percentages describe separate employer and nonemployer owner populations and should not be added together.) [6]

Immigrant entrepreneurs bring experience, ambitions and examples of success shaped across borders. Mexico’s election of Claudia Sheinbaum as its first female president offers a visible example of women exercising authority at the highest level. For organizations serving U.S. Latina entrepreneurs, it invites reflection on how they recognize leadership potential, assess experience and create opportunities for women to lead and expand businesses.

Stanford found that 38% of surveyed Latino-owned employer businesses were considering acquisitions, compared with 26% of White-owned businesses. [7]

Acquisition can provide customers, employees and operating capacity. Buyers should assess the target company’s financial performance, customer concentration and management needs, along with the purchase price, financing terms and working capital required after the acquisition. Succession planning can help connect prepared buyers with owners approaching a transition. The survey measures interest among existing employers, not prospective first-time owners.

Census data identify another expansion path: exporters represented about 2% of Hispanic-owned employer firms and generated approximately 16% of employer-firm revenue. That revenue includes domestic and export sales. [8]

Exporting offers an additional avenue for reaching customers and developing commercial relationships. Owners considering exports should assess customer demand and market trends, distribution partners, shipping and regulatory requirements, and payment arrangements. Current changes in tariffs and trade policy should also inform pricing, costs and the financial viability of entering a target market. The Census figures show the substantial business activity of exporters, although they do not establish that exporting caused higher revenue or profitability.

Dinero Habla sees an opportunity to develop stronger commercial and investment relationships between Latin American enterprises and U.S. Latino-owned businesses. Distribution partnerships, joint ventures and equity investment are avenues worth exploring for both immigrant and U.S.-born owners seeking to expand.

This opportunity deserves deliberate attention: how can U.S. Latino business owners, both immigrant and U.S.-born, develop relationships with Latin American companies and investors that support their next stage of growth?

A U.S. business may bring customer relationships and local operating knowledge; a Latin American partner may bring capital, products or commercial expertise. Prospective partners should define a specific commercial objective, such as distributing a product in a new market, then assess customer demand, financial requirements, each party’s contribution and responsibility for execution.

In the Federal Reserve’s 2025 Small Business Credit Survey, 40% of Hispanic-owned employer firms reported using AI, compared with 48% of White-owned firms. Among businesses already using AI, 13% of Hispanic-owned firms reported full integration, compared with 6% of White-owned firms. [5]

Among Hispanic-owned employer firms using AI, 82% reported writing or marketing applications and 68% individual productivity. Customer-service use reached 43%, compared with 27% among White-owned AI users. Respondents could select multiple applications. [5]

The next opportunity is to connect AI to the work that moves U.S. Latino business forward: responding to customers, preparing proposals, coordinating orders and managing follow-up. For all owners, the strategic question is: where could better execution allow the company to serve more customers, improve margins or pursue business it currently lacks the capacity to handle?

The implementation challenges reported by owners help explain what stands between using AI and achieving those outcomes. Adapting tools to business needs, maintaining accuracy and finding time for implementation require attention to how work gets done. [5]
Digital readiness includes usable records, a defined process, appropriate access to information and someone responsible for reviewing results.

Professionals advising business owners should understand both capabilities. Generative AI produces content such as text, images, analysis and draft proposals. Agentic AI uses AI models and connected tools to carry out a sequence of tasks toward a goal, within defined permissions. The capabilities often work together: generating a quotation may be one step in an agent’s broader workflow. Knowing the difference helps owners decide what to delegate, what access to grant and where human approval is required.

Agentic AI extends applications by coordinating tasks across connected business systems. AI agents can use connected business tools to carry out multiple steps, assess what they find and determine the next action within defined permissions. Their usefulness depends on choosing the right responsibilities, connecting reliable information and establishing where human approval is required.

Consider a distributor receiving a customer inquiry. A connected AI system could retrieve approved product information, check inventory, draft a quotation and prepare a follow-up. An agent could also identify missing information and route an exception to the appropriate employee. People would retain approval over pricing exceptions, contractual commitments and other consequential decisions. This is an illustrative application, with performance dependent on the systems, information and controls supporting it.

AI can also help businesses work across languages and markets. English-Spanish capabilities can support customer inquiries, translate product information, prepare bilingual proposals and help teams coordinate across borders. For U.S. Latino businesses exploring Latin American expansion, these applications offer a practical way to extend service and communication capacity. The opportunity requires more than translation: regional language, customer expectations, pricing and local requirements need informed review. Owners can combine AI’s speed with their teams’ cultural knowledge and commercial relationships to prepare for new markets with greater confidence.

The business opportunities are tangible: faster turnaround from customer inquiry to a reviewed proposal, more consistent follow-up and greater capacity to pursue orders. Evaluating that opportunity means measuring the complete process, including employee review time, correction costs and customer outcomes.

Owners and their advisers should ask: Which process is limiting growth? What information and systems would AI need to access? What authority should it have? What improvement would justify the full cost of implementation?

The findings in this brief should influence where lenders develop relationships, how corporations find suppliers, what technology companies help owners accomplish and how educators prepare future business buyers. Latina entrepreneurship, younger owners, acquisition interest and AI adoption each point to decisions that deserve a more specific commercial response.

For organizations seeking to serve U.S. Latino enterprise, the opportunity is to become a useful partner at the moment an owner is preparing to grow. That requires understanding the business, recognizing its next decision and offering a credible way forward.

A U.S. Latino-market strategy should account for the business decisions Latino owners make: choosing a lender, acquiring a competitor, selecting software to manage business operations, qualifying for a contract or entering another market. Those decisions determine where financing, technology, professional services and commercial relationships become essential.

DH calls this the market behind the market. It invites organizations to understand Latino owners as business buyers, employers, suppliers and potential investment partners, with needs that change as their companies develop.

The findings in this issue inform the priorities Dinero Habla believes should guide the next stage of U.S. Latino enterprise growth. We call on lenders, corporations, technology providers, educators and marketers to put these priorities into their planning and investment decisions. Through market intelligence, strategic guidance and business education, DH and everyone committed to this work can help entrepreneurs identify opportunities for growth and help the organizations serving them turn those opportunities into practical support, stronger partnerships and informed investment.

For owners, this agenda offers a way to evaluate prospective partners. Can this organization help you reach a customer, finance an expansion, improve an operation or prepare for an acquisition? Ask what expertise it brings, what implementation involves and how progress will be assessed.

For institutions, the responsibility is to make that answer specific. Agree on the next action and timeline with the business owner, and track progress toward the intended outcome, such as a financing decision, supplier evaluation or operating improvement.

Our first Dinero Habla Market Intelligence Brief focused on U.S. Latino Entertainment, and identified clear gaps and opportunities for influence and action focused on this increasingly influential sector of our lives. In this issue, we’ve identified an agenda with timely priorities for Entrepreneurs and Enterprise action:

Dinero Habla champions U.S. Latino entrepreneurship, ownership and enterprise growth by making these opportunities visible and calling for informed action. This issue advances Dinero Habla’s mission to provide executive-level market intelligence that helps business leaders, investors, marketers and decision-makers recognize emerging opportunities and make informed strategic choices. Its analysis identifies priorities for strengthening U.S. Latino enterprise and helping more owners build companies that sustain livelihoods, create jobs, build lasting value and establish a legacy for future generations.

To discuss how these findings can inform your organization’s market strategy, strengthen business education or expand support for Latino enterprise, contact [email protected]. To contribute insights, suggest research questions or explore these and other topics with Dinero Habla, contact [email protected].

This brief brings together published research, government business statistics and Dinero Habla analysis. Citation numbers correspond to the references below. Publication dates and the years measured by the data are identified separately.

[1] UCLA and California Lutheran University. 2026 U.S. Latino GDP Report. Research by Dan Hamilton, Matthew Fienup, David Hayes-Bautista and Paul Hsu. Source for the estimated $4.4 trillion contribution of U.S. Latinos to GDP in 2024. UCLA’s accompanying summary is also available.

[2] U.S. Census Bureau. Annual Business Survey: Statistics for Employer Firms by Industry, Sex, Ethnicity, Race, and Veteran Status: 2023, Table AB2300CSA01. The 2024 survey covers reference year 2023. Source for Hispanic-owned employer-firm counts, receipts, employment and payroll. Census release summarizing the employer and nonemployer results.

[3] U.S. Census Bureau. Annual Business Survey: Employment Size of Firm Statistics for Employer Firms: 2023, Table AB2300CSA04. Source table for the employment-size analysis in Part I, including firms with 20 or more employees.

[4] U.S. Census Bureau. 2023 Nonemployer Statistics by Demographics (NES-D), including Table AB2300NESD01, Statistics for Employer and Nonemployer Firms. Source for Hispanic-owned nonemployer business counts and receipts, and the combined employer/nonemployer comparisons. Select the 2023 table on the linked page.

[5] Federal Reserve Banks, Small Business Credit Survey. 2026 Firms in Focus: Chartbook on Firms by Race and Ethnicity of Ownership. Based on the 2025 survey. Relevant pages: profitability, p. 7; financing applications, p. 30; reasons for not applying, p. 32; financing outcomes, p. 38; AI use and integration, pp. 42–43; AI applications, p. 45; and implementation challenges, p. 46.

[6] Benjamin Weiser and Imani Augustus, Third Way. The State of Hispanic Business, July 20, 2026. Census-based analysis supporting the brief’s discussion of employer-firm growth, Latina-owned businesses, owner ages and birthplace. Its endnotes identify the underlying Census tables and comparison periods.

[7] Stanford Latino Entrepreneurship Initiative and Latino Business Action Network. 2025 State of Latino Entrepreneurship, published in 2026. The acquisition findings and survey population are documented in Stanford’s April 13, 2026 article, How Latino business owners are navigating growth, AI, and inflation, which links to the report. The research surveyed more than 10,000 Latino and White business owners with at least one paid employee and more than $10,000 in revenue.

[8] U.S. Census Bureau. 2024 ABS: U.S. Exporting Firms by Demographics, Employer Businesses, Table 2, Employer Firms by Exporting Status, Receipt Size of Firm, Sex, Ethnicity, Race, and Veteran Status: 2023. Combines the 2024 ABS with the 2022–2023 Profile of U.S. Importing and Exporting Companies. Source for the exporter comparisons in Part III.

Coverage and terminology. “U.S. Latino” is Dinero Habla’s editorial term; “Hispanic” follows the cited data. Ownership, race and ethnicity classifications follow each source. Non-Hispanic and White comparison groups are not interchangeable. Employer businesses have paid employees; nonemployer businesses do not. Census business totals and the Federal Reserve and Stanford survey populations have different coverage and should not be treated as a single sample.

Measures and periods. Census figures in this brief measure 2023 business activity. The GDP estimate measures 2024 economic production. The Federal Reserve chartbook reports findings from its September–November 2025 survey, including respondents’ profitability at the end of 2024. Business receipts measure sales before expenses; GDP measures economic production. Neither measures owners’ personal income, and the two should not be added together.

DH calculations. Combined business counts and receipts add the Hispanic-owned employer and nonemployer categories. Each category’s share uses that combined total as its denominator. The 20-or-more-employee analysis sums the relevant employer-size categories and compares their counts and receipts with the combined employer/nonemployer totals. The 3.6-times comparison concerns net additions to employer-firm counts, not a ratio of percentage growth rates. Figures are rounded for readability; rounded components may not reproduce every displayed total precisely.

Survey denominators. Financing application rates concern surveyed employer firms; discouragement rates concern nonapplicants; approval outcomes concern applicants for loans, lines of credit or merchant cash advances. The Federal Reserve’s AI questions were optional. Integration and application percentages concern businesses already using AI, and multiple-response questions can total more than 100%. These reported differences do not, by themselves, establish their causes.

Ownership and expansion. Age and birthplace findings describe existing owners in the relevant datasets. They do not measure prospective owners’ intentions. Acquisition interest is not a completed transaction. Exporters’ total business receipts include domestic and export sales; their share of receipts does not show that exporting caused higher revenue or profitability.

Editorial analysis. DH perspectives, recommendations, proposed Latin American partnerships and illustrative AI workflows are Dinero Habla’s analysis. They are not findings or endorsements attributed to the cited institutions. Examples describe possible applications, not measured outcomes or guaranteed results.