CFO Slice

North America's finance chiefs have grown significantly more pessimistic about the global economic outlook, even as confidence in their own organizations has strengthened, according to Deloitte’s second-quarter 2026 CFO Signals survey. The survey found that 90% of respondents are optimistic about their companies’ prospects, up from 74% in the first quarter. However, confidence in the broader economy weakened, with only 37% describing the North American economy as "good now," while 50% expect it to improve over the next year. Sentiment toward other major regions - including South America, Asia excluding China, and China -also declined, while Europe showed a modest improvement, albeit from a low base. Deloitte’s overall CFO confidence score fell to 5.9 out of 10 from 6.3 in the previous quarter, dropping from the "high" to the "medium" confidence category. Despite the weaker macroeconomic outlook, CFOs’ financial expectations remained largely unchanged, with respondents forecasting average revenue growth of 4.5% over the next year, compared with 4.4% in the first quarter, and earnings growth holding steady at 4%.