Deloitte CFO Survey: Optimism is Declining

Deloitte conducted its spring European CFO Survey. Since the 2025 autumn survey, its respondents have nearly doubled. 

Over 1,100 CFOs took part in the survey, across 12 European countries - and the results show that European CFOs are more pessimistic in 2026 than throughout the 2022 energy crisis. 

The survey asked CFOs about their views on external pressures which may be influencing their decisions - taking in to account not only macroeconomic trends, geopolitical and operational weights. 

It also found that the weight of pessimism and optimism differs according to sector. 

Life sciences and healthcare sector leads the way, reporting 25% of CFOs as optimistic; whereas 35% indicated pessimism. 

The consumer industry paints a different picture, reporting that only 20% of CFOs feel optimistic, versus 48% that feel pessimistic. 

The big three 

The report lists three main concerns, all connected to each other. Deloitte notes that rising energy and input costs, heightened geopolitical risks and increasing profit margin pressure are driving CFO pessimism. 

External financial and economic uncertainty was rated by 75% of CFOs as a high or very high concern - up by 15 percentage points from the autumn survey. 

All surveyed countries ranked geopolitical risks as a leading concern, another increase from the 2025 survey. Similarly, a top three priority across all countries surveyed was cost reduction - a first in the survey’s history. 

In line with recent experiences, the top three concerns are more energy shocks, and increase in conflict in the Middle East and critical material disruption. 

The report notes that these signal CFOs expecting compound, rather than individual, events. 

CFOs are guarding the purse strings, as only 26% of Europe’s CFOs plan to increase capex in the next 12 months. While 45% expect no change, a majority 85% believe that the time for taking a greater risk on the balance sheet is not now.

Aidana Zhakupbekova, COFO at Rydoo, notes: “This year so far has been a roller coaster of price volatility, geopolitical uncertainty and AI spending, which has culminated in many CFOs feeling less optimistic about profit margins, turning their attention to analysis and planning to reduce risk, alongside cost reduction.

"The traditional budgeting cycle is just no longer acceptable. Quarterly updates have become outdated and CFOs are now buffering a lot more frequently.

"You can’t necessarily wait for a month or quarter to close to do the full analysis and CFOs need to be a lot more agile when dealing with this level of volatility.

“As for cost reduction, companies that have been steadily increasing their AI spend need to focus on what, if any, ROI they are actually getting from it. Frustration around a lack of progress on AI can result in companies buying more and more AI tools in order to close the gap between investment and results.

"But without clear guidance on how to use tools, employee buy in remains low and overall returns diminish.”

The other big three

The takeaway from the report is summarised into three points, as CFOs refocus priorities that could position them ahead. 

Cost-cutting should not be the focus for a redesign – resilience should. 

Deloitte notes that companies focusing on redesigning operations via automation, digital transformation and supply chain diversification could provide more chance to position better for improved margins. 

“Grow where you already win” is the second takeaway for CFOs, as the report notes that focusing in an already existing market reflects high-performing companies as they are “likely to be highly selective”. 

This strategy focuses less on aggressive expansion and new market entry to give margins a chance to recover. 

The final point hammers home advice about protecting margins: the opportunity for them to recover later can start with investing in the moment. 

Despite risk, strategic investment in productivity and technology being a concern for 85% of CFOs, Deloitte advises that building during this period can positively impact margins when conditions improve if downtime is spent preparing.