Huntsville Metro Area Report

Alabama Business Confidence Index™

Third Quarter 2025

Forecasts Remain Conservative in Q3 2025

For the second quarter in a row, business leaders in Huntsville expressed very mild confidence in their forecasts. Huntsville’s Q3 2025 ABCI increased 0.9 points from last quarter’s very mildly contractionary level to reach an almost neutral index of 50.4. Four of the metro’s component indexes were within one point of the neutral 50, indicating overall expectations for a continuation of last quarter’s levels. Two indexes had slightly more confident forecasts: the industry sales index was Huntsville’s highest component index this quarter at a moderately confident expansionary 55.3 while the US outlook was the lowest index at a mildly confident contractionary 47.7.

Index above 50 indicates positive outlook as compared to last quarter.
Index below 50 indicates negative outlook compared to last quarter.

Huntsville Component Index Analysis

• Alabama Economy: The Q3 2025 Alabama economic index registered at 50.7 after increasing 3.2 points from last quarter, indicating mildly confident expectations for improved statewide economic conditions compared to Q2 2025.
• US Economy: For the second consecutive quarter, Huntsville business leaders are anticipating worse conditions in the U.S. economy. The index rose 3.3 points from last quarter to register as mildly contractionary in Q3 2025.
• Industry Sales: Industry sales remained the metro’s highest index in Q3 2025 with a moderately confident expansionary index of 55.3. This is a 1.1-point increase from the Q2 2025 sales index.
• Industry Profits: The Q3 2025 profits index decreased 2.1 points from Q2 2025 to reach a mildly contractionary index of 49.0, indicating overall expectations for a decrease of last quarter’s profit levels.
• Industry Hiring: Huntsville’s hiring index was 50.7 this quarter, 1.8 points above last quarter’s moderately expansionary outlook. About 24 percent of panelists expect to decrease hiring this quarter, while 26.7 percent expect to increase hiring compared to last quarter.
• Industry Capital Expenditures: The metro’s capital expenditures index registered as mildly contractionary this quarter after decreasing 1.7 points to register at 49.0 for Q3 2025.

ABCI Huntsville in Context

Huntsville’s business confidence was just north of neutral this quarter with an ABCI of 50.4. Over the last two-and-a-half years, there have been five quarters where metro panelists have forecasted growth with mild to strong confidence, two quarters of neutral outlooks, and there have been three quarters of mildly confident contractionary outlooks. During that time, expectations for the US economy were consistently contractionary with one exceptional expansionary index in Q1 2025; panelists forecasted increased sales every quarter except for Q1 2024; and confidence in Huntsville’s hiring index, which had once been the metro’s strongest index, began decreasing and was contractionary in Q4 2024 and Q2 2025.

The forecasts from Alabama’s metros were primarily neutral, with the ABCIs for Huntsville, Tuscaloosa, and Birmingham all very close to 50. In general, panelists in these metros are expecting industry sales to increase and conditions in the US economy to worsen compared to the previous quarter. Montgomery had the highest metro ABCI this quarter at a mildly expansionary 53.7, which is a 5.4-point increase from their mildly contractionary Q2 outlook. Montgomery’s panelists are forecasting growth this quarter in all indexes but hiring. There was not enough participation to include Mobile’s outlook this quarter.

The Center for Business and Economic Research would like to thank the Alabama business executives who completed the third quarter 2025 ABCI™ survey. This is the 95th consecutive quarter this report has been recorded, and it would not have been possible without your participation.
Be sure to log in during the September 1–15 survey window to record your opinions about economic prospects and industry performance looking ahead to the fourth quarter of 2025.

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This report was produced in partnership between the Center for Business and Economic Research at the The University of Alabama’s Culverhouse College of Business and the Huntsville Area Chamber of Commerce.

Analysis provided by Susannah Robichaux, Socioeconomic Analyst, Center for Business and Economic Research, Culverhouse College of Business, The University of Alabama.