EARNEST
AcquiredNew York City, US Β· 5 known investors
Earnest Analytics works with data partners to turn raw data into analytics and insights for business and investment professionals. It serves clients making business and investment decisions through data-driven products.
Also known as Earnest Analytics Β· Earnest Research
Founders & leadership
Investors Β· 5
Company profile
researched Aug 2026Earnest Analytics is an alternative data company that measures the consumer and healthcare economies using near real-time transaction and healthcare data. It sources data from third-party partners, applies a proprietary machine learning normalization methodology it calls Earnest AI to remove outliers and churn, and layers analyst classification and validation on top, benchmarking datasets against companies' reported results. Outputs are delivered through Dash, the company's analytics platform, alongside row-level data that clients can use to build custom consumer cohorts.
The company positions its data for three customer groups: investors (long/short, long only, quantitative, venture capital, private equity, and healthcare-focused), corporates (strategy, consumer insights, marketing, finance, investor relations, data teams, and corporate development functions), and management, strategy, and marketing consultants. Published use cases include quantifying customer trends, revenue growth, market share shifts, customer retention, and competitive benchmarking. The company describes its datasets as covering more than 180 million accounts across 12 representative datasets, with a minimum transaction lag of one day and stated revenue surprise accuracy of 90%.
Earnest Analytics also publishes a stream of research notes on US consumer spending and specific sectors and companies β for example, clothing and accessories spend, restaurant traffic, general merchandise, egg prices, Shein, Temu, and MoviePass β and its data has been cited in outlets including The Wall Street Journal.
Business model
Earnest Analytics licenses structured alternative datasets and delivers analytics through its curated platform, Dash, which packages normalized and analyst-validated data for institutional and corporate users; the company also offers free trials and demo-led onboarding. It obtains underlying data through partners that it states meet standards for accuracy, trustworthiness, and compliance.
Revenue is generated from data and analytics products sold to institutional investors, companies, consultants, and government agencies, accessed via the Dash platform and underlying datasets.
Traction
The company reports coverage of more than 180 million accounts across 12 representative datasets and 90% revenue surprise accuracy. Named clients and referenced users include Rabobank, Hungryroot, Sizzling Platter, SPARC Group, and Tecovas, and its data has been cited by The Wall Street Journal.
Latest developments
In April 2025, Consumer Edge announced an agreement to acquire Earnest Analytics, with the transaction expected to close that month pending customary approvals. Consumer Edge described the combination as adding Earnest Analytics' team, technology platform, and specialized healthcare and transaction datasets to its consumer intelligence offering.
βΈFull profile β market position, technology, go-to-market, geography, history
Market position
Described by its acquirer's transaction materials as a pioneer in transaction and healthcare data within the alternative data industry, and by its own site as serving large corporations and hedge funds. Consumer Edge, the acquirer, is described as a leading global provider of consumer alternative data intelligence.
The company emphasizes a combination of partner-sourced data, proprietary machine learning normalization (Earnest AI), and human analyst validation against reported company results, rather than delivering raw data alone. It also provides row-level data that permits custom consumer cohort construction by brand preference, income, and home location, and cites specialized healthcare datasets alongside transaction data.
Technology
Earnest AI, a proprietary machine learning methodology, normalizes raw partner data to correct for outliers and churn; industry analysts then classify and validate the data against reported results. Insights are delivered through Dash, a curated analytics platform, with row-level data available for custom cohort analysis and a minimum transaction lag of one day.
Go-to-market
Earnest Analytics markets directly to investment firms, corporates, and consultancies through demo requests and free trials, and supports demand generation with regularly published research notes on consumer spending and individual companies, which are also picked up by financial media such as The Wall Street Journal. Customer testimonials cited on its site come from Rabobank, Hungryroot, Sizzling Platter, SPARC Group, and Tecovas.
Institutional investors (hedge funds, quantitative investors, venture capital, private equity, healthcare investors), corporate teams in strategy, consumer insights, marketing, finance, investor relations, data and corporate development, management and strategy consultants, and government agencies.
Geography
Headquartered in New York City, with research output focused on US consumer and healthcare spending, including regional analyses such as New York City's Central Business District.
History
The company was founded in 2012 and operates under the Earnest Analytics brand from New York City. It completed a convertible note financing in 2023, advised by FT Partners. On April 14, 2025, Consumer Edge announced an agreement to acquire Earnest Analytics, with closing expected in April 2025 subject to customary approvals; FT Partners acted as exclusive financial and strategic advisor to Earnest Analytics.
Compiled by commissioned research from 5 cited public sources β announcements, filings, and press listed under research sources below.
Key figures
latest reportedCompany-reported or press-reported figures, each dated to when it was claimed β not independently audited.
Timeline Β· 2
launches, deals, and filingsConsumer Edge, a provider of consumer alternative data intelligence founded in 2009, announced an agreement to acquire Earnest Analytics; the transaction was expected to close in April 2025 pending customary approvals. FT Partners served as exclusive financial and strategic advisor to Earnest Analytics.
Earnest Analytics completed a convertible note financing, on which FT Partners advised.
Dated company events from announcements, filings, and press; legal rows summarize public dockets and regulator releases.
βΈResearch sources Β· 5
primary sources listed
- EARNESTearnestresearch.com Β· web
5 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does EARNEST do?
- Alternative data company measuring the consumer and healthcare economies with near real-time transaction data and analytics.
- Who founded EARNEST?
- EARNEST was founded by Kevin Carson.
- Who are EARNEST's investors?
- EARNEST's investors include Pivot Investment Partners, Bonfire Ventures, Ff Venture Capital, Peak Partners, Osage Venture Partners.
- Where is EARNEST headquartered?
- EARNEST is headquartered in New York City, US.