A study included in the Afi Emilio Ontiveros Foundation’s “Snapshot of the Spanish business landscape: in search of growth” indicates that the 100 companies that recorded the highest cumulative annual revenue growth between 2008 and 2024 generate 30 per cent more revenue for every euro invested in staff and have achieved record levels of profitability.
Analysis by the Afi Foundation
According to the 2026 update of the ranking of the 100 leading medium-sized companies in terms of growth — first published in 2025 as part of the study ‘An X-ray of the Spanish business fabric: In Search of Growth’—which the Afi Emilio Ontiveros Foundation has committed to updating annually—these companies have doubled their turnover over the last five years, increased their productivity to record levels, generate 30 per cent more revenue for every euro invested in staff, and have achieved record-high profitability whilst maintaining prudent financial management.
Spain’s leading medium-sized growth companies, or ‘scalers’, are demonstrating that it is possible to grow in size without sacrificing efficiency. The 100 companies with the highest cumulative growth since 2008 have doubled their turnover in the recent period, rising from 7,174 to 14,083 million euros between 2019 and 2024, and have created more than 22,000 new jobs in just five years.
The key finding revealed by the update to the 2026 analysis is that this growth is accompanied by an acceleration in productivity. Revenue per employee at these companies rose by 10.7 per cent annually between 2019 and 2024 – almost double the rate observed over the entirety of their track record since 2008 – reaching the highest level in the entire series analysed by 2024. Furthermore, whilst productivity continues to accelerate, wages are also trending upwards, suggesting real improvements in efficiency and value creation rather than merely containing labour costs.
The Top 100 sees new leaders emerge, but retains its core of high-growth companies
Based on a panel of nearly 9,000 medium-sized companies active between 2008 and 2024, the study analyses, for the second year running, the 100 that have recorded the highest cumulative annual revenue growth during this period. The selection is based on companies that were already medium-sized in 2008 (based on turnover) with the aim of eliminating the bias introduced by analysing companies that simply started out as small businesses.
The concept behind this exercise is that of a ‘scaler’, a term coined by the OECD to describe companies with sustained, above-average growth rates. The OECD not only studies them but also highlights them as a driving force and role model for the wider business sector, given their impact on employment, productivity and innovation.
Productivity is accelerating, and 2024 marks the best figure in the entire series
Between 2019 and 2024, the latest year for which financial data is available, the 100 leading growth companies have doubled their aggregate turnover, rising from 7,174 million euros to 14,083 million, and have created 22,467 new jobs, increasing their combined workforce from 53,225 to 75,692 employees. Individually, these companies recorded an average annual revenue growth of 17.5 per cent, which, according to the study, classifies them as true ‘scalers’ and builds on the average annual growth of 16.9 per cent recorded since 2008.
This performance is particularly significant given that these are mature companies, having been in operation for over 16 years. However, what is relevant is not so much—or not solely—the intensity of growth, but its quality in terms of efficiency and productivity.
The productivity of these companies, measured in terms of revenue per employee, accelerated significantly in the wake of the pandemic. Between 2019 and 2024, the median revenue per employee among the Top 100 increased at an annual rate of 10.7 per cent, rising from 152,000 to 252,000 euros per employee. This rate is almost double that observed over the entire 2008–2024 period (5.9%) and has also intensified year on year, reaching its highest level in the entire series in 2024.
You can read the full analysis by the Afi Emilio Ontiveros Foundation here (in Spanish).
