The basics:

• Wakefern retains No. 1 spot in 2025 NJBIZ Top 250 list
• SHI, Eisai and NFI post major year-over-year revenue gains
• Law firms and consulting firms see triple-digit growth
• Pharmaceutical company debuts in Top 10 with $2.4B revenue

Little has changed among the top five leading businesses on the latest NJBIZ Top 250 Privately Owned Companies list.

Across the list, ranked by 2024 global revenue, the median move was a 5% increase. While nearly 74% of the firms listed recorded growth over the period, almost 22% had declines and 12 companies reported no change.

Wakefern continued its reign at No. 1, with the only major shakeup at the top coming via a swap for third and fourth place between Eisai Inc. (now No. 3) and Imperial Dade (currently No. 4). Second-ranked SHI International and NFI, at No. 5, rounded out the rest.

Closing out the top 10, Ferring Pharmaceuticals debuted in that position with $2.4 billion in 2024 total global revenue. Meanwhile, Jersey City-based Goya Foods Inc. fell from the top 10 in 2024, appearing at No. 12 with revenues down 17% to $1.5 billion.

At No. 16, Aurobindo Pharma USA Inc. ($1.04 billion revenue) also broke into the top of the pack after not appearing on the 2024 list.

In terms of dollars, these companies posted the most significant gains, according to the NJBIZ data:

• SHI International Corp. +$1 billion
• Axtria Inc. +$579.82 million
• Eisai Inc. +$520 million
• Wakefern Food Corp. +$500 million
• NJM Insurance Group +$390 million
• Mott MacDonald +$270 million
• EisnerAmper +$234 million
• NFI +$200 million
• World Insurance Associates LLC +$179 million
• Rebenack, Aronow & Mascolo LLP +$40.67 million

Who’s on the move?

When it comes to who’s growing, law firms, in particular, and consulting companies showed exceptional growth. RAM Law (Rebenack, Aronow & Mascolo LLP) had the largest percentage increase across the entire Top 250 list from 2023 to 2024, growing by a massive 457%.

Six additional companies also posted triple-digit percentage growth on the list:

• Ocean Solar +358% to $5.5 million
• Commercial Mortgage Capital +312% to $1.5 million
• Axtria Inc. +250% to $811.9 million
• Crown Cruise Vacations +120% to $6.6 million
• Everwell Health +127% to $50 million
• Forrestal Consultants International +100% to $1 million

While several IT and engineering firms also noted strong expansions, volatility in the commercial real estate space was reflected in mixed results – and some major declines – among construction and real estate companies.

Woodbridge-based The Kislak Co. Inc. posted 76% y-o-y revenue growth. Meanwhile, Torcon Inc. and Haas Construction Management LLC had some of the largest dollar decreases in the current list. That pushed the former from No. 18 to 22; and the latter down to No. 80 from last year’s 68th spot.

Looking over the data, scale seemed to insulate larger companies from some of the dramatic shifts seen in their smaller counterparts.

Most improved

Companies with the most improved rankings year over year were:

• No. 78 Everwell Health +80
• No. 79 RAM Law +79
• No. 156 Crown Cruise Vacations +48
• No. 113 LAN Associates +35
• No. 58 Strato Inc. +31
• No. 133 Bergen Cable Technology Inc. +29
• No. 125 Clarke Caton Hintz +23
• No. 149 The Kislak Co. Inc. +23

The complete NJBIZ Top 250 Privately Owned Businesses ranking begins on p. 8 of the Aug. 18, 2025, issue of NJBIZ. Want to get listed? Head to njbiz.com/data-center for additional details and to submit your information.

Comcast Business and Provident Bank are Premium Publication Sponsors of NJBIZ’s 2025 Book of Lists. The complete Top 250 list will be available for download Aug. 20. Subscribe to NJBIZ’s Leads and Data to gain year-round access to the data from NJBIZ’s lists.