We Graded 836,894 Companies. Here's What Separates the Top 2% from the Bottom 5%.

The dataset

We compiled 836,894 financial statementsfrom government registries across 6 countries: France (INPI), Norway (BRR), the UK (Companies House), Finland (PRH), the US (SEC EDGAR), and Canada (ISED FPD). Every data point is derived from officially filed accounts — no surveys, no estimates.

Companies were grouped into 549 cohorts by industry (NACE 2-digit) and revenue bracket. Each cohort has a minimum of 30 companies to ensure statistical reliability. Within each cohort, we computed the mean, standard deviation, and percentile distribution for 8 core KPIs.

Finding #1: The Rule of 40 is nearly universal

The Rule of 40 — revenue growth + EBITDA margin ≥ 40% — was invented for SaaS. We applied it to all 836K companies and found that only 15.1% pass the threshold, regardless of sector. Companies that pass earn 2.4× the median EBITDA margin and grow 58% faster.

Finding #2: The top quartile earns 3.1× the median

Across all cohorts, Top quartile companies earn an EBITDA margin of 15.2% compared to the Median median of 4.9% — a 3.1× gap. This ratio is remarkably stable across industries, from construction to professional services.

The gap between good and great is not 20%. It's 310%.

Finding #3: Grades persist — the poverty trap

We tracked year-over-year grade transitions for companies with consecutive filings. The results reveal a strong persistence effect:

• 51% of A+ companies stay A+ the following year
• 78% of A+ companies remain in the A tier (A+, A, or A-)
• Only 3.1% of D-rated companies escape to A-tier the next year

This persistence suggests that without deliberate intervention — the kind PE firms bring — underperformance is structural, not cyclical.

Finding #4: What separates A+ from F

We compared A+-graded companies (top 2.3%) with F-graded companies (bottom ~0.1%) across all metrics. The most discriminating factors:

• EBITDA margin: A+ averages 22.4% vs F at -15.8%
• Personnel costs: A+ allocates 28% of revenue vs F at 52%
• DSO: A+ collects in 34 days vs F at 78 days
• Current ratio:A+ at 2.8× vs F at 0.6×

What this means for your company

The bell curve is real. Your position on it is not random — it's the result of specific financial patterns that can be measured, compared, and improved. That's what PE playbooks do: they move companies rightward on the curve.

Grade your company for free and see exactly where you stand relative to your peers. It takes 60 seconds.