Phoenix Business Journal

What Phoenix Business Journal does

Phoenix Business Journal is a regional business news publication serving the Phoenix, Arizona metropolitan area, operating as a local edition within the American City Business Journals (ACBJ) network of 40+ city business journals across the United States. Founded in 1980, the company provides daily local business news coverage across commercial real estate, banking, technology, residential real estate, and food/lifestyle verticals, plus a dedicated technology and innovation sub-brand called AZ Inno. The core product is the bizjournals.com/phoenix digital news platform, supplemented by mobile applications for iOS and Android, a digital edition of the weekly print publication, email newsletters, and social media distribution across Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram.

The company's product portfolio extends beyond news content into structured data products and events. The Book of Lists Unlimited is a premium data subscription providing unlimited access to ranked business lists with weekly-updated contact information for sales prospecting and business research use cases. Additional data and reference products include the Lists and Public Records database and the annual Book of Lists directory. The events business is anchored by multiple annual awards programs including 40 Under 40 (presented by UMB Bank), Healthcare Heroes (presented by BlueCross BlueShield of Arizona), Best Places to Work, Outstanding Women in Business, and growth summits. BizSpotlight is a paid press release distribution service targeting the Phoenix executive audience.

Revenue is generated through three primary streams: digital subscriptions providing access to subscriber-only content and the Book of Lists Unlimited product, display and sponsored advertising targeting an affluent professional audience (62% top management, 85% college graduates, average net worth $2.2 million, average gross sales $228 million), and event revenue from awards programs and summits. The primary customer segment is Phoenix-area business executives and decision makers, with a secondary segment of B2B marketers and advertisers seeking access to the affluent business audience. The company is privately held as a subsidiary of American City Business Journals, with compliance infrastructure supporting CCPA and GDPR via Ethyca's consent management platform.

Name

Phoenix Business Journal

Legal name

American City Business Journals

Website

https://phoenixbusinessjournal.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1980

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Phoenix Business Journal is a regional business news publication serving Phoenix-area executives with daily local business coverage, ranked company data products (Book of Lists Unlimited), and annual awards programs, operating as one of 40+ local editions within the American City Business Journals network.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Regional Business News and Media

NAICS

Periodical Publishers (513120)

SIC

Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721)

akta.pro primary industry

Business, Finance & Industry Trade Magazines (MPAJAEAM)

akta.pro secondary industry

Digital Newsstand & Aggregation Platforms (Magazine/News Apps, Bundles) (MPAJAKAE)

Keywords

• Business news publication
• Regional journalism
• Business data products
• Industry awards programs
• B2B advertising platform

Headquarters

HQ city

Phoenix

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Subscriptions: Digital subscriptions providing access to subscriber-only content, digital editions, and Book of Lists Unlimited.
2. Advertising: Display advertising and sponsored content on the website and in digital editions. Target audience is described as educated, affluent top management professionals.
3. Events: Revenue from awards programs and summits including 40 Under 40 Awards, Healthcare Heroes, and Growth Summit events.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Phoenix Business Journal is a regional business news publication that produces original journalism covering Phoenix-area commercial real estate, banking, technology, residential real estate, and innovation. It sells digital subscriptions to its news website and digital edition, monetizes its high-net-worth executive audience through display and targeted advertising, and runs award programs and events such as 40 Under 40 and Healthcare Heroes. It also offers data products including the Book of Lists annual directory and Book of Lists Unlimited subscription for sales prospecting.

Product overview

Phoenix Business Journal is a regional business news publication operated by American City Business Journals. The core product is its digital news platform (bizjournals.com/phoenix) providing coverage of local Phoenix business news across technology, commercial real estate, banking, residential real estate, and innovation. The company offers multiple data products including Lists and Public Records for business research, the Book of Lists annual directory, and Book of Lists Unlimited as a premium subscription data service. Revenue streams include award programs (40 Under 40 Awards, Best Places to Work, Outstanding Women in Business, Healthcare Heroes Awards), a digital edition subscription, a press release distribution service (BizSpotlight), and display advertising. The company also operates AZ Inno as a technology-focused sub-brand and provides commercial real estate listing services through Home of the Day.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• 40 Under 40: Awards program honoring Phoenix's 40 Under 40 business professionals
• Women of Influence
• Best Places to Work
• Healthcare Heroes Awards
• AZ Inno
• Book of Lists Unlimited

Products and services

• Phoenix Business Journal Website Primary digital news platform providing local Phoenix business news across commercial real estate, banking, technology, residential real estate, food and lifestyle, and innovation via the AZ Inno vertical. Targets business executives and decision-makers in the Phoenix metro.
• Lists and Public Records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• American City Business Journals (ACBJ)coreOthersParent company network providing the platform and brand for local business journals across 40+ US cities. Phoenix Business Journal operates as a local edition within this network.
• UMB BankminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPresenting sponsor for 40 Under 40 Awards program.
• BlueCross BlueShield of ArizonaminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPresenting sponsor for Healthcare Heroes Awards program.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Bloomberg: Global business news and data platform reaching senior executives. Competes for the same high-net-worth decision-maker audience and advertising dollars, though its scale and terminal/newsroom depth are much larger.
• Forbes: National business news brand with strong executive audience, awards franchises (30 Under 30, etc.), and paid newsletters/lists. Competes with Phoenix Business Journal for executive attention and B2B advertising spend, but at national scale.

Direct peers

• Crain's Chicago Business: Independent regional business publication serving Chicago with similar premium executive audience, subscriptions, and events — a direct competitive comparable outside the ACBJ network.
• Chicago Business Journal: ACBJ-market local business journal in Chicago offering the same digital news, Book of Lists, and event franchises. Directly comparable in product and revenue model.
• Boston Business Journal: ACBJ-market local business journal serving Greater Boston with the same subscription, advertising, and event monetization model as Phoenix Business Journal.
• Crain's New York Business: Crain's regional business publication serving New York with subscription, advertising, and signature events (e.g., 40 Under 40). Directly comparable in audience and business model to Phoenix Business Journal.
• Dallas Business Journal: Another ACBJ-market local business journal serving the Dallas metro. Identical content, distribution, and monetization playbook, providing a direct comparable for Phoenix's product-market fit and revenue scaling.
• Los Angeles Business Journal: Sister publication within the American City Business Journals network serving the Los Angeles metro. Operates the same subscription + advertising + events + Book of Lists model, making it the most directly comparable peer to Phoenix Business Journal.
• San Francisco Business Times: ACBJ-market local business journal covering the San Francisco Bay Area with the same Book of Lists, digital subscription, and event structure as Phoenix Business Journal.

Emerging players

• Industry Dive: Digital B2B publisher operating vertical-specific newsletters with subscription and advertising models. Represents the digital-native, vertical-specialized publishing model Phoenix Business Journal could evolve toward or compete against for advertiser attention.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/phxbizjournal
• Facebookfacebook.com/phxbizjournal
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/phoenix-business-journal
• Instagraminstagram.com/phxbizjournal

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Phoenix Business Journal