What the difference is a quarter.
In the last quarter, CFOS talent, monetary policy and inflation were the greatest concerns, according to a survey by Federal Reserve Richmond. This quarter,Tariffs and business policyThey are what keeps them at night.
The tariffs appeared as the highest concerns of CFOs of 400 companies that conducted a survey followed by inflation and monetary policy. Approximately 25% of the CFO said they planned to reduce hiring in response to tariffs, and 25% also stated to reduce capital expenses. Although half said they did not make any changes due to tariffs, 27% planned supplier diversification and 20% accelerated purchases.
Respondents feared by tariffs “had significantly lower optimism, lower expectations of GDP growth, lower expectations of income and employment growth, and higher expectations for price growth in 2025,” said Sonya Ravindranath Waddell, VP and economist in Richmond Fed.
CFOS optimism increased last quarter, partly due to elections, but this quarter slipped and dropped from 66.0 to 62.1 to the Richmond Fed index. CFOs are still significantly more optimistic than in June 2022, when the index reached 50.5, which is the lowest point since 2011.
CFO also said that next year they feel a little more pessimistic about the prospects of their companies. And buzzing the moment – ”uncertainty“-The first time in the survey history, the first time you have the top five CFO interests.
This message was written by Courtney Vien and was Originally published according to CFO BREW.
This story was originally listed on Fortune.com
