- Key insight: See why CFOs report record-high profit optimism despite cooling their appetite for taking risks.
- What's at stake: Organizations trying to secure tax law benefits before trade policy shifts erase their gains.
- Expert quote: "It's clearly a mixed bag, with counterbalancing weights." — David Sites, Grant Thornton Advisors LLC
CFOs are sounding a more upbeat note lately, according to a pair of new surveys from Deloitte and Grant Thornton.
Deloitte's quarterly
Meanwhile, company-level optimism remains resilient. Some 90% of the 200 North American CFOs surveyed by Deloitte say they're significantly or somewhat more optimistic about the financial prospects for their companies this quarter, a continued high from Q2, and 37.5% rate the current North American economy favorably.
However, their appetite for risk has cooled slightly, with only a little over half (53%) of CFOs saying now is a good time to take greater risks, declining from the previous quarter. While risk appetite has declined among the surveyed CFOs since Q2, it's higher than the two-year average of 51.7%.
Financing remains relatively attractive, with 55% of CFOs surveyed by Deloitte seeing equity financing as attractive, while 50% say the same about debt financing, suggesting CFOs continue to see multiple paths to capital amid a shifting risk appetite.
Technology deployment, including generative AI, was CFOs' most-cited internal concern (50%), while cybersecurity topped the list of external concerns (50%). CFOs expect revenue to grow 4.6% and capital expenditures to increase 4.3% over the next year, both modestly higher than last quarter, while expectations for earnings, dividends, domestic wages and salaries, and domestic hiring declined.
Grant Thornton survey
In
Nearly half (46%) indicated they're optimistic about the U.S. economy, compared with 80% who expect their organization's net profits to grow over the next year.
AI is a major topic, with 84% of the CFOs saying their organization's AI investments are meeting or exceeding expectations, with productivity gains driving much of the return. Nearly two-thirds (65%) rate the performance and quality of AI technology as good or excellent.
Some 84% say their transformation efforts are meeting or exceeding expectations, although competing priorities and budget pressures remain significant hurdles. Among those pressures, 60% report tariffs and trade policy shifts have negatively affected their organization, while many continue to see benefits from recent tax legislation.
Only 24% of the surveyed CFOs anticipate potential layoffs in the next six months, the lowest level recorded since the question was introduced in 2022.
The survey revealed that finance leaders are balancing the benefits of recent tax legislation against the challenges created by tariffs and shifting trade policies. While 44% said the One Big Beautiful Bill Act has benefited their organization, 21% said it caused harm.
"It's clearly a mixed bag, with counterbalancing weights," said David Sites, national managing partner of the Washington National Tax Office and international tax solutions for Grant Thornton Advisors LLC, in a statement Monday. "When you look at it on balance, OBBBA gave to businesses, and tariffs took away from businesses."
Sites noted that many organizations have yet to fully capitalize on the tax law's provisions, including changes that expanded benefits for exporters and created additional opportunities for tax savings. Realizing those benefits, he said, requires careful analysis and execution.
"You have to do your homework, and you have to be good at implementation to take advantage of all the benefits of the OBBBA," Sites stated.
Despite ongoing tax and trade uncertainty, strong customer demand continues to support finance leaders' outlook. Among the CFOs who responded to the survey, 61% noted a positive view of customer demand, compared with 15% who hold a negative view.
"The American consumer remains fairly strong," Sites stated. "Demand looks good, and the survey results indicate optimism about future profits and the ability to maintain growth. In a way, that all comes back to the American consumer."
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