Middle market private companies in the Golub Capital Altman Index (GCAI) grew earnings by 16 percent during the first two months of fourth quarter 2023, the highest year-over-year earnings growth since second quarter 2021. Revenue grew 7 percent during the same period.
“We expected to see strong growth in fourth quarter 2023, and the data exceeded even our expectations,” said Lawrence E. Golub, CEO of Golub Capital. “As we said throughout 2023, private equity-owned middle market companies in general are proving resilient and adapting well to the environment. Our middle market report has also performed well. Every quarter in 2023, our data provided consistently correct early insight that economic growth was exceeding the prevailing consensus. The strong revenue and earnings growth of the GCAI in fourth quarter 2023, in our view, caps off a year that bodes well for investors in private equity. Despite concern about the potential impact of high interest rates and economic