Where ROA Is Strongest Across Industries

CPAs and business advisors are often asked a deceptively simple question:

“Is this ROA good?”

The challenge is that ROA norms vary widely by industry and business model. Without the right peer context, even technically correct ratios can lead to misleading conclusions.

That’s why werecently launchediCFO Finsights, an ongoing insight series for business advisors built on firm-level financial data fromover 1 million U.S. businesses.

Where ROA Is Strongest Across Industries (Median Benchmarks)

Below is a snapshot of industries with the strongest typical ROA, based onmedian valuesand minimum firm-count thresholds.

NAICSIndustry (6-digit)Median ROA 541213 Tax Preparation Services 28.5% 213114 Support Activities for Metal Mining 27.1% 235210 Roofing Contractors 22.8% 541840 Media Representatives 20.8% 541191 Title Abstract and Settlement Offices 19.9% 541219 Other Accounting Services 19.8% 235510 Framing Contractors 19.2% 213111 Drilling Oil and Gas Wells 18.1% 541211 Offices of CPAs 17.1% 561492 Court Reporting and Stenotype Services 17.0%

Based on median ROA;averages are not used.

What this highlights for advisors

• Asset-light professional services naturally exhibit higher ROA norms

• Capital-intensive industries operate with structurally lower ROA

• Cross-industry comparisons often explain “underperformance” that isn’t operational

The takeaway is simple:

ROA only becomes meaningful when evaluated against the right industry context.

Explore this for any industry (free)

You can generate afree 1-year Industry Metrics reportand see ROA and other benchmarks for any industry, broken out by size group.

👉Create a free industry report here:

https://secure.icfo.pro/industry-metrics/build-free-industry-report/1-year

No subscription required— just practical benchmarks you can use in client conversations.

More Finsights are coming soon, covering liquidity norms, growth dynamics, and size-driven performance differences.