Houston, TX, August 12, 2026. EPMA today announced it has been ranked No. 1969 on the 2026 Inc. 5000 list, the annual list of the fastest-growing private companies in America. The list is the most prestigious ranking of the nation’s most successful independent and entrepreneurial businesses, recognizing companies that have achieved remarkable growth while driving innovation, creating jobs, and shaping the future of the economy. Past honorees include companies such as Microsoft, Meta, Chobani, Oracle, and Patagonia.
“Reaching the Inc. 5000 for the fifth time is a milestone that says as much about our clients and our team as it does about our growth. Sustained growth in professional services is not an accident. It is the compounding effect of relationships, discipline, and a willingness to say no to work that does not fit. We are honored to be recognized alongside companies doing the hard, unglamorous work of building operations that last.”
Michael Samadi
Chief Executive Officer, EPMA
A Reflection on Five Appearances
Reaching the Inc. 5000 once takes a specific set of conditions to align. Reaching it five times says something different. Sustained growth in a mid-market services firm is not the result of a single strategy or a lucky year. It is the compounding effect of choices made consistently over a long time.
Five patterns stand out when EPMA looks at what has actually produced this outcome.
1. Client relationships that compound over years, not quarters.
The clients who have returned for a second, third, fifth engagement. The executives who moved to new companies and brought EPMA with them. The referrals that came not from active business development but from clients saying “you need to talk to these people.” Growth built on relationships that deepen produces a different kind of stability than growth built on constant new-logo acquisition. Every year EPMA has appeared on this list has been fueled by clients who chose to keep working with the firm rather than by clients who had to be persuaded from scratch.
2. A team that stays long enough to actually know what they are doing.
Low turnover in critical roles. Institutional knowledge that compounds year over year. Team members who have seen enough client engagements to spot patterns before they cost the client money. The best delivery work happens when the people doing it have context that only comes from time on the job. EPMA has invested in retention as a growth strategy, not just as a hiring cost line.
3. Saying no to work that does not fit.
Not every opportunity is a good opportunity. Some engagements would compromise quality. Some clients would be better served by a different firm. Some scope requests would stretch the team beyond where they can deliver excellence. Discipline about what to take on has been as important as effort on what does get accepted. Growth built on the right clients doing the right work compounds. Growth built on saying yes to everything eventually collapses.
4. Investing in delivery infrastructure before it was needed.
Governance, process, technology, and operational muscle that supports growth are usually built after the growth arrives, which is why so many firms scale and then break. The firms that survive scaling are the ones that build the unglamorous infrastructure early. Every year EPMA has been on this list, that investment has been happening in the background, sometimes at short-term cost, always with long-term payoff.
5. Evolving the operating model as the market changed.
16 years ago, EPMA was a project management consulting firm. Today, the firm spans consulting, staffing, technology, and AI. Not because chasing new services is a growth strategy, but because clients’ businesses changed, and matching what they needed required the firm to change too. Staying static is the fastest path off this list.
Looking ahead
The five patterns above are what produced five appearances. They are also what EPMA will keep investing in for the next five years. To the clients whose partnership has made this recognition possible, and to the team whose work has earned it, thank you. There is more to build.
This year’s Inc. 5000 recognizes a new class of companies redefining what growth looks like. From AI and advanced manufacturing to healthcare, consumer products, and professional services, these businesses are expanding their impact, creating jobs, and proving that entrepreneurial ambition continues to fuel the U.S. economy. Among the 5,000 companies on the list, the median three-year revenue growth rate was 130%, and those companies have collectively added more than 627,208 jobs to the U.S. economy over the past three years.
For the full Inc. 5000 list, honoree company profiles, and a searchable database by industry and location, please visit www.inc.com/inc5000.
“Every company on the Inc. 5000 has a story of perseverance, smart decision making, and a refusal to sit still,” says Mike Hofman, editor-in-chief of Inc. “Their growth reflects more than strong financial performance. It reflects creativity, resilience, and the customer focus required to build companies that make a lasting impact. We congratulate all honorees on this significant achievement.”
Inc. will celebrate the honorees at the 2026 Inc. 5000 Conference & Gala, taking place October 14–16 in Dallas, Texas, and the top 500 will be listed in the Fall issue of Inc. Magazine.
Inc. 5000 List Methodology
Companies on the 2026 Inc. 5000 are ranked according to percentage revenue growth from 2022 to 2025. To qualify, companies must have been founded and generating revenue by March 31, 2022. They must be U.S.-based, privately held, for-profit, and independent, not subsidiaries or divisions of other companies, as of December 31, 2025. (Since then, some on the list may have gone public or been acquired.) The minimum revenue required for 2022 is $100,000; the minimum for 2025 is $2 million. As always, Inc. reserves the right to decline applicants for subjective reasons.
About EPMA
EPMA is a project management consulting, staffing, and technology firm serving executives, PMO leaders, and mid-market operations leaders across energy, infrastructure, engineering and manufacturing, technology, and professional services. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, the firm has been named to the Inc. 5000 list of America’s Fastest Growing Companies five times (2015, 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026), and its culture has been recognized as a ‘Top 100 Texas Company to Work For,’ ‘Houston’s Best and Brightest,’ and ‘National Best and Brightest’ company year over year.
With over 16 years of history in project and portfolio management, EPMA helps clients design the governance, measurement, and delivery infrastructure that turns strategy into provable business outcomes. The firm’s proprietary Enterprise Project Office (EPO®) model provides a structured operating framework for clients scaling project-driven work across the enterprise. EPMA’s consulting practice, embedded staffing partnership, and technology practice (spanning multiple PPM platforms and AI-enabled solutions) address the four challenges most mid-market operations face: strategy that needs to become execution, delivery that needs governance without slowing down, workforce plans that need to keep pace with rapidly changing project demand, and AI investment that needs to produce defensible business value.
For more information, visit www.epmainc.com.
About Inc.
Inc. is the leading media brand and playbook for the entrepreneurs and business leaders shaping our future. Through its journalism, Inc. aims to inform, educate, and elevate the profile of its community: the risk-takers, the innovators, and the ultra-driven go-getters who are creating the future of business. Inc. is published by Mansueto Ventures LLC, along with fellow leading business publication Fast Company. For more information, visit www.inc.com.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Inc. 5000?
The Inc. 5000 is Inc. magazine’s annual ranking of the fastest-growing private companies in America, published since 1982. Companies are ranked by percentage revenue growth over a three-year period. Past honorees include Microsoft, Meta, Oracle, Chobani, and Patagonia.
How many times has EPMA been named to the Inc. 5000?
Five times: 2015, 2023, 2024, 2025, and 2026. The 2026 ranking of No. 1969 marks EPMA’s fourth consecutive year on the list.
How are companies ranked on the Inc. 5000 list?
By percentage revenue growth across a three-year window, which for the 2026 list is 2022 to 2025. Companies must be U.S.-based, privately held, for-profit, and independent, with at least $100,000 in 2022 revenue and at least $2 million in 2025 revenue.
How did EPMA’s growth compare to other 2026 honorees?
EPMA posted 174 percent three-year revenue growth, above the 130 percent median across the 5,000 companies on the 2026 list. Collectively, those companies added more than 627,208 jobs to the U.S. economy over the same three years.
What does EPMA do?
EPMA is a project management consulting, staffing, and technology firm based in Houston, Texas. It helps executives and PMO leaders across energy, infrastructure, engineering and manufacturing, technology, and professional services build the governance, measurement, and delivery infrastructure that turns strategy into measurable outcomes.