What 473 companies reveal about the biggest shift in revenue strategy in decades.
4 MIN READ
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Updated on July 10, 2025
Introducing the 2025 State of Recurring Revenue & Monetization Report
TL;DR:
- 96% of business leaders expect revenue growth in 2025, but half will miss their targets.
- The problem isn’t market conditions or AI investment; it’s a disconnect between how they plan to grow and how they actually make money.
- Our survey of 473 global executives reveals that the companies hitting their numbers are the ones that’ve aligned their monetization strategy with their growth strategy.
We just completed the most comprehensive study of revenue and monetization strategies in the market, surveying 473 companies across industries to understand how they’re approaching growth in 2025.
What we found reveals a shift in how companies think about revenue, but also a concerning disconnect that could catch many organizations off guard.
The headline finding: 96% of companies expect to grow revenue in 2025, with two-thirds betting on growth exceeding 20%.
But when we dug into their monetization strategies and execution capabilities, a troubling pattern emerged that suggests many of these companies face an uphill battle.
The AI Investment Surge Driving Everything
AI has taken over corporate growth strategies.
77% of companies now cite artificial intelligence as their #1 technology investment—a 67% jump from 2024. AI adopters show dramatically different confidence patterns, with 96% forecasting revenue increases compared to just 69% of companies not prioritizing AI investments.
The Monetization Divide: Two Completely Different Playbooks
Our research uncovered something interesting: companies are essentially running two completely different playbooks for the same revenue growth goal.
The AI-Pricing Evolutionaries: 80% of companies adding AI to their products are simultaneously evolving their pricing models. The AI adopters in our survey who evolved their pricing alongside AI innovation are twice as likely to expect high growth compared to companies that haven’t made this strategic alignment.
The Pricing Status Quo: Meanwhile, 83% of companies that have not incorporated AI made zero pricing changes in the past year. These non-adopters report lower growth expectations— 69% forecast growth compared to 96% of AI adopters.
This divide reveals the biggest shift in monetization strategy we’ve seen in decades.
[The full report provides examples of companies successfully navigating this monetization evolution.]
The Execution Reality: Where Confidence Meets Implementation
Here’s where our research gets concerning. Nearly three-quarters of companies raised pricing in 2024, and a significant portion of those failed to align those increases with perceived customer value. That’s a foundational execution gap that explains why revenue confidence often doesn’t translate to revenue achievement.
The Speed Factor
83% of companies test pricing changes before implementation, but companies executing pricing changes within a month of testing are significantly more likely to see success than those with longer implementation cycles. The top barriers slowing everyone else down are metering gaps, usage model complexity, and technical limitations.
The Cross-Functional Challenge
Pricing decisions aren’t owned by a single department. Executive teams lead pricing decisions 29% of the time, followed by Finance (17%), Sales (15%), and Revenue Operations (14%). Modern monetization requires cross-functional coordination, not departmental ownership.
The Growth Confidence Audit: Are You in the Gap?
Based on our research findings, we’ve identified three critical alignment points that separate companies likely to achieve their growth targets from those at risk of falling short:
1. Value-Price Alignment Assessment
The Question: Can your customers clearly articulate why your pricing matches the value they receive?
Quick Test: Companies in which 80% or more of customers can confidently explain the value-price relationship are twice as likely to hit revenue targets.
2. Innovation-Monetization Synchronization
The Question: Are you capturing the value of your product innovations through your pricing model?
Quick Test: If you can’t connect specific monetization changes to your top 3 product innovations from the past year, you’re likely in the confidence gap.
3. Execution Speed Capability
The Question: How quickly can you implement pricing changes from decision to market?
Quick Test: Our highest-performing survey respondents implement pricing changes in 30 days to one quarter. How nimble is your organization in testing and implementing pricing changes?
What the Full Research Reveals
This overview touches on the key patterns from our comprehensive study, but the complete picture is far more nuanced and actionable.
More to Come
Over the next five weeks, we’ll examine each chapter of our research in depth, exploring the data and insights from the report. Stay tuned!
Ready to see where your company stands? Download the complete 2025 State of Recurring Revenue & Monetization Report to get the full research findings and data from 473 companies reshaping revenue growth.
