The health of larger firms with access to capital markets has shown steady improvement over the past year. Operating earnings per share for S&P 500 firms have been rising, net debt financing by nonfinancial corporations has been increasing, and indicators of corporate credit quality have continued to improve.
For these firms, the outlook appears positive: Recent surveys of purchasing managers across a range of manufacturing and nonmanufacturing firms indicated an increase in their plans for capital spending in the coming year. In contrast, for small businesses, the situation has been more difficult.