1.8Industry

Research & Analytics

Firms delivering market research, competitive intelligence, economic analysis, and data analytics to inform business and investment decisions.

8
Segments
32
Verticals

Overview

Research & Analytics covers the firms that gather, analyze, and sell information and insight — market research and consumer insights, business intelligence and analytics, competitive and economic research, geospatial analytics, ESG data, and survey research. The common asset is proprietary data and the methods to turn it into decisions.

It is a fragmented, data-driven field where the most valuable businesses are built on recurring data subscriptions rather than one-off projects. Demand has grown steadily with the broader appetite for data-driven decision-making, and consolidation is brisk wherever a defensible data asset is in play.

Market snapshot

Market size
~$47B
Growth
~5.6%CAGR (2017–22, nominal)
Companies
~15,000
FragmentationFragmented

U.S. Census Bureau 2022 CBP/Economic Census, research-services core — market research (541910), geospatial (541360/541370), and social-science research (541720). Excludes in-house physical/engineering/life-sciences R&D (541713/541715) and analytics software.

Business model & economics

Revenue model
Project research plus recurring data and insights subscriptions
Recurring revenue
Moderate–High where built on subscription data; project-based otherwise
EBITDA margin
15–30%
Capex intensity
Low
  • Proprietary data assets are the durable competitive advantage.
  • Subscription data and insights produce the most valuable, recurring revenue.
  • Demand tracks the broad shift to data-driven decision-making.

M&A deal context

High deal activity

Who’s acquiring

Data & information-services consolidatorsPE-backed research and analytics platformsStrategics acquiring proprietary datasets

What’s driving deals

  • Acquirers chasing defensible, recurring data assets.
  • Consolidation across market research, data, and analytics.
  • Demand for data-driven insight across industries.

Segment classifications

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