Equipment Finance Industry Hits $1.51 Trillion in 2025
The Equipment Leasing & Finance Association's Industry Horizon Report shows a new all-time high, with 87% of end-users using some form of financing.
Updated on Nov. 3, 2026 in Corporate Finance
Live Poll
Do you think businesses financing equipment with loans and leases is good for the economy?
The equipment finance industry expanded to an estimated $1.51 trillion in 2025, a new all-time high, according to the Equipment Leasing & Finance Association. The industry grew 8.7% from 2024 as financing usage rose from 82% to 87% of end-users.
Why it matters
Financing covered an estimated 55.2% of the $2.7 trillion in nominal equipment and software investment made in 2025, highlighting how central financing is to business capital spending. The shift toward generative AI, with 74% of respondents now using it versus 42% in 2024, is reshaping which investments businesses finance.
The industry's $1.51 trillion size reflects an estimated financed share of approximately 55.2% of $2.7 trillion in nominal 2025 equipment and software investment, with 61.2% of private sector investment financed. Medical equipment was the most-financed type at 82% of acquisitions, though the report does not break out how the projected 2027 growth will be divided among sectors.
The players
Equipment Leasing & Finance Association (ELFA)
A trade association representing the equipment finance industry that conducts the sector's biennial end-user survey and publishes the Industry Horizon Report.
The details
Cash flow optimization was the top reason end-users financed acquisitions in 2025, cited by 72% of respondents. Computers were among the least-financed categories despite being the fastest-growing investment amid the AI buildout, contributing to a modest decline in the overall propensity to finance.
Timeline
2007: ELFA conducted the industry's first end-user survey.
2025: The equipment finance industry reached $1.51 trillion in size.
Summer 2026: ELFA conducted the biennial end-user survey.
October 26, 2026: The Industry Horizon Report was released.
Market Dynamics
The 2026 report extends ELFA's biennial end-user survey, first conducted in 2007, and updates the financing-usage rate from 82% in 2024 to 87%. Growth tied to AI-related computer purchases, a category the report notes was among the least financed, signals a shift in what businesses choose to finance over the survey period.
Businesses weighing equipment purchases can compare financing against cash outlays, since 72% of end-users cited cash flow optimization as their main reason for financing. Investors tracking equipment lessors may find the 8.7% industry growth and the 35% expectation of higher 2027 acquisitions relevant to portfolio allocation decisions.
The takeaway
Financing has become the default route for equipment and software purchases, with nearly nine in ten end-users now using it. Businesses planning AI-related investments should weigh how financing terms affect the cash flow benefits that most users cite.
Further reading
For broader context on how businesses fund capital purchases, explore more Corporate Finance coverage.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Textile World.
Live Poll
Do you think businesses financing equipment with loans and leases is good for the economy?
