B2B Statistics: What The Latest Business Data Shows
B2B is a broad label, but the numbers behind it are not abstract. The supplied statistics show a market made up of huge wholesale sales, fast-growing enterprise software platforms, and a clear shift toward partner-led and subscription-led growth.
Table of contents
- At a glance
- B2B statistics snapshot
- Wholesale and distribution data
- B2B software and revenue benchmarks
- What the numbers suggest about B2B growth
- Quick comparison table
At a glance
Big number: U.S. merchant wholesalers had $11,382.3 billion in sales in 2022, up 17.4% from $9,693.4 billion in 2021 (Census 2022 Annual Wholesale Trade Survey).
Fast fact: The Annual Wholesale Trade Survey has been conducted annually since 1978 (Census 2022 Annual Wholesale Trade Survey).
Sample size: The wholesale sample included approximately 8,400 firms (Census 2022 Annual Wholesale Trade Survey).
Business takeaway: B2B activity in the dataset spans both physical distribution and software, which makes the market look less like one category and more like a connected set of business engines.
B2B statistics snapshot
A useful way to read these figures is to separate them into two layers.
- One layer is the business-to-business economy in the traditional sense: wholesalers, distributors, and the movement of goods.
- The other layer is B2B software and revenue performance: platforms that sell into organizations, often with recurring revenue, partner channels, and enterprise customers.
That split matters because the dataset includes both. It gives you a view of how B2B behaves when measured by sales, customers, subscriptions, operating margins, and channel mix rather than by a single headline metric.
Wholesale and distribution data
The wholesale data is the clearest hard-economy anchor in the dataset. It shows how large B2B distribution really is before you even get to software platforms.
Wholesale sales are massive
U.S. merchant wholesalers recorded $11,382.3 billion in sales in 2022, which was up 17.4% year over year from $9,693.4 billion in 2021 (Census 2022 Annual Wholesale Trade Survey).
That one line tells you two things at once:
- B2B distribution is enormous in scale.
- The sector was still expanding quickly in 2022 rather than flattening out.
The detailed category data shows that this growth was not concentrated in just one corner of wholesale.
- Motor vehicle and motor vehicle parts and supplies merchant wholesalers had sales of $1,106.9 billion in 2022, up 17.2% from $944.4 billion in 2021 (Census 2022 Annual Wholesale Trade Survey).
- Drugs and druggists’ sundries merchant wholesalers had sales of $1,294.1 billion in 2022, up 11.4% from $1,161.9 billion in 2021 (Census 2022 Annual Wholesale Trade Survey).
- Grocery and related product merchant wholesalers had sales of $1,262.9 billion in 2022, up 12.8% from $1,120.0 billion in 2021 (Census 2022 Annual Wholesale Trade Survey).
- Petroleum and petroleum products merchant wholesalers had sales of $2,089.5 billion in 2022, up 45.4% from $1,436.8 billion in 2021 (Census 2022 Annual Wholesale Trade Survey).
The petroleum category stands out because its growth rate was much higher than the others in the supplied dataset. At 45.4%, it grew far faster than motor vehicle distribution, grocery distribution, or drug wholesaling.
Fast facts about the wholesale system
Here is the practical picture from the census data:
- The Annual Wholesale Trade Survey has been running since 1978 (Census 2022 Annual Wholesale Trade Survey).
- It includes approximately 8,400 firms in the sample (Census 2022 Annual Wholesale Trade Survey).
- It measures sales, e-commerce sales, inventories, purchases, and operating expenses (Census 2022 Annual Wholesale Trade Survey).
That mix of measurements matters because B2B is not only about gross sales. It is also about how firms handle inventory, costs, purchasing, and digital order flow.
E-commerce is part of the B2B picture
The dataset also includes E-Stats 2022, which uses manufacturing, wholesale, service, retail, and retail trade survey data to measure e-commerce activity across sectors (Census E-Stats 2022).
That is an important reminder that B2B commerce is not confined to field sales or direct account management. It also shows up in digital transaction systems that cut across sectors.
Why it matters: B2B buyers are not choosing between “online” and “offline” in a simple way. The census structure suggests a multi-channel operating model where commerce, inventory, and expense tracking all feed the same business system.
B2B software and revenue benchmarks
The software numbers in the dataset are different from the wholesale numbers, but they tell a related story: B2B companies can scale through recurring revenue, partner channels, and enterprise retention.
HubSpot: customer scale and revenue growth
HubSpot ended 2024 with 247,939 customers, up 21% year over year (HubSpot 2025 proxy statement).
The same source says it finished 2024 with nearly 248,000 customers and nearly $2.9 billion in annual recurring revenue (HubSpot 2025 proxy statement).
It also reported $2.63 billion in 2024 revenue, up 21% year over year (HubSpot 2025 proxy statement).
A few things stand out:
- Customer count and revenue were both growing at the same pace.
- Annual recurring revenue was close to the $2.9 billion mark.
- The business was still expanding at a double-digit rate even at large scale.
The margin figure adds another layer. HubSpot’s non-GAAP operating profit margin reached 17.5% for 2024, up over 200 basis points year over year (HubSpot 2025 proxy statement).
That suggests the company was not just adding customers and revenue. It was also improving profitability metrics while doing it.
Salesforce: scale, cash flow, and margin strength
Salesforce fiscal 2024 revenue was $34.86 billion, up 11% year over year (Salesforce FY24 earnings release).
Its fiscal 2024 operating cash flow was $10.2 billion, up 44% year over year (Salesforce FY24 earnings release).
The margin figures in the dataset are equally important:
- GAAP operating margin was 14.4% (Salesforce FY24 earnings release).
- Non-GAAP operating margin was 30.5% (Salesforce FY24 earnings release).
Salesforce is a useful B2B benchmark because it shows how enterprise software can combine scale, profitability, and strong cash generation. Revenue growth is important, but operating cash flow tells you how much real financial power sits behind the business.
DocuSign: subscriptions and efficiency signals
DocuSign generated 97% of revenue from subscriptions in each of fiscal 2024, 2023, and 2022 (DocuSign FY24 10-K).
That level of subscription concentration makes the business model easy to read: it is overwhelmingly recurring rather than transactional.
The company also reported that its products had helped save the equivalent of:
- 93 billion sheets of paper as of January 31, 2024 (DocuSign FY24 10-K)
- 9 billion gallons of water as of January 31, 2024 (DocuSign FY24 10-K)
- 7 billion pounds of carbon dioxide as of January 31, 2024 (DocuSign FY24 10-K)
- 545 million pounds of waste as of January 31, 2024 (DocuSign FY24 10-K)
Those figures are framed as product impact claims, and they help explain why the company positions itself as more than a workflow tool. In B2B terms, the value proposition is tied to process efficiency, digital adoption, and operational replacement.
DocuSign total revenue was $2.8 billion in fiscal 2024, up 10% from the prior year (DocuSign FY24 earnings release).
Subscription revenue was $2.7 billion in fiscal 2024, also up 10% from the prior year (DocuSign FY24 earnings release).
Operating cash flow was $979.5 million in fiscal 2024 (DocuSign FY24 10-K).
ZoomInfo: customer depth and retention
ZoomInfo had 1,867 customers with more than $100,000 in ACV as of December 31, 2024 (ZoomInfo 2024 10-K).
Its net revenue retention rate was 87% as of December 31, 2024 (ZoomInfo 2024 10-K).
Revenue was $1,214.3 million in 2024 (ZoomInfo 2024 10-K).
Additional 2024 figures include:
- GAAP income from operations of $97.4 million (ZoomInfo 2024 10-K)
- GAAP operating margin of 8% (ZoomInfo 2024 10-K)
- GAAP net income of $29.1 million (ZoomInfo 2024 10-K)
- Adjusted operating income of $428.5 million (ZoomInfo 2024 10-K)
This is a good example of how B2B software often lives or dies on account value and retention, not just top-line growth.
Adobe and enterprise product revenue
Adobe’s fiscal 2024 revenue was $21.51 billion, up 11% year over year (Adobe FY24 earnings release).
Within that, Adobe Digital Experience revenue was $5.37 billion in fiscal 2024, up 10% year over year (Adobe FY24 earnings release).
The quarterly detail in the dataset shows additional segmentation:
- Adobe Digital Experience subscription revenue was $1.35 billion in fiscal Q4 2024, up 10% year over year (Adobe FY24 Q4 release).
- Adobe Business Professionals and Consumers subscription revenue was $1.65 billion in fiscal Q4 2024, up 15% year over year (Adobe FY24 Q4 release).
Adobe’s Digital Media ARR moved from $17.33 billion to $17.22 billion entering fiscal 2025 because of a $117 million foreign exchange impact (Adobe FY24 earnings release).
That detail is useful because it shows how B2B software metrics can move for reasons that are not purely operational growth or demand weakness. Currency effects can shape reported ARR even when the underlying business remains large and durable.
What the numbers suggest about B2B growth
The supplied statistics point to a few clear patterns.
1. B2B growth is not one market story
The wholesale data and software data are both B2B, but they behave differently:
- Wholesale is measured in huge transaction and distribution volumes.
- Software is measured in customers, ARR, recurring revenue, and retention.
A B2B analyst looking only at one of those layers would miss half the picture.
2. Scale does not remove growth
Several of the companies in the dataset are already large, yet they still posted strong growth:
- HubSpot grew customers 21% year over year and revenue 21% year over year (HubSpot 2025 proxy statement).
- Salesforce grew revenue 11% year over year and operating cash flow 44% year over year (Salesforce FY24 earnings release).
- Adobe grew revenue 11% year over year (Adobe FY24 earnings release).
- DocuSign grew total revenue 10% year over year and subscription revenue 10% year over year (DocuSign FY24 earnings release).
That is a reminder that B2B growth can continue at scale when the product is embedded in business workflows.
3. Subscription and partner models matter
The dataset includes two especially important channel or monetization signals:
- DocuSign generated 97% of revenue from subscriptions in each of fiscal 2024, 2023, and 2022 (DocuSign FY24 10-K).
- HubSpot Solutions Partners and referred customers represented about 29% of customers at December 31, 2024, and those partner-sourced customers represented about 48% of 2024 revenue (HubSpot 2024 10-K).
Those numbers show how B2B businesses can build durable engines around recurring revenue and channel leverage rather than relying only on one-time purchases.
4. Retention and cash flow are as important as growth
ZoomInfo’s 87% net revenue retention rate, Salesforce’s $10.2 billion in operating cash flow, and DocuSign’s $979.5 million in operating cash flow all show that B2B quality metrics matter as much as revenue growth (ZoomInfo 2024 10-K; Salesforce FY24 earnings release; DocuSign FY24 10-K).
In practical terms, a B2B company can look strong on growth but still be weak on durability. The dataset favors companies that also show cash generation, margin expansion, or retention strength.
5. No single-customer concentration can be a meaningful signal
DocuSign reported 97% subscription revenue, while HubSpot said no single customer represented more than 10% of revenue in 2024, 2023, or 2022 (DocuSign FY24 10-K; HubSpot 2024 10-K).
That helps illustrate an important B2B principle: even when businesses sell to enterprises, they still want broad customer bases and diversified revenue sources.
Quick comparison table
| Company or segment | 2024 or latest figure | Growth or supporting metric | Source label |
|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. merchant wholesalers | $11,382.3 billion in sales | Up 17.4% from 2021 | Census 2022 Annual Wholesale Trade Survey |
| Petroleum wholesalers | $2,089.5 billion in sales | Up 45.4% from 2021 | Census 2022 Annual Wholesale Trade Survey |
| HubSpot | 247,939 customers | Up 21% year over year | HubSpot 2025 proxy statement |
| Salesforce | $34.86 billion revenue | Up 11% year over year | Salesforce FY24 earnings release |
| DocuSign | 97% of revenue from subscriptions | Stable across fiscal 2022, 2023, and 2024 | DocuSign FY24 10-K |
| ZoomInfo | 1,867 customers above $100,000 ACV | Net revenue retention of 87% | ZoomInfo 2024 10-K |
| Adobe | $21.51 billion revenue | Up 11% year over year | Adobe FY24 earnings release |
What to watch in B2B data next
If you are reading B2B statistics for strategy rather than trivia, the most useful signals in this dataset are not just the biggest sales figures. They are the patterns behind them.
- Wholesale shows the physical scale of B2B distribution.
- Software shows how recurring revenue, customer count, and retention create durable business models.
- Partner-sourced revenue shows how channel ecosystems can become major growth drivers.
- Operating cash flow and margins show whether growth is translating into financial strength.
- Subscription concentration shows how deeply a product is embedded into business workflows.
That mix is what makes B2B statistics useful. It is not one industry with one metric. It is a network of business models, each with its own way of showing growth, resilience, and scale.