C-suite barometer: 2026 mid-year insights

InsightsC-suite barometerC-suite barometer: outlook 2026

C-suite barometer: 2026 mid-year insights

Diversification: the critical condition for growth

At the start of the year our C-suite barometer uncovered a business world embracing change, investing in technology and people, and reimagining strategies to stay ahead of disruption and competition.

Six months on, the latest mid-year insights point to diversification as the defining condition for growth. Across regions and sectors, leaders are responding to volatility by diversifying, rather than doubling down on singular bets – from operations, business models and expansion plans, to future funding and products/services. We’re also seeing organisations diversifying resources in response to world events, reallocate boosts to investment and redirect trade target destinations.

Despite the challenging backdrop, executive optimism about growth remains strikingly steady and market conditions favourable. What is driving this positivity, however, is not the external environment but the latest switch and shift in operations, trade and growth strategies. As confidence in navigating the increasing trends impacting businesses weakens and investment decisions become more cautious, strategies built on concentration are rapidly losing favour.

Based on the views of more than 1,000 C‑suite executives across 18 countries, our mid-year C-suite survey takes the pulse of global leaders, discovering the shifting trends shaping business strategies to help prepare for what’s next.

Focus on growth

The global paradox has now expanded. At 92%, expectations for growth are unchanged since the start of 2026, signalling sustained ambition among C suite leaders, despite a more volatile backdrop. Confidence, however, has deteriorated fast. Our Confidence Index has fallen 8 points to 35%, its lowest level since the height of the pandemic in 2021. This collapse reflects a sharp rise in the big trends impacting businesses – the salience of energy prices, supply certainty and geopolitical instability – alongside a growing recognition that these forces are increasingly difficult to control. Crucially, the loss of confidence is broad based, spilling across every external and operational trend, with increased competition the sole exception.
92%

remain positive about growth

35%

confident managing key trends (down eight points)

62%

boosting investment (down seven points)

Key findings

 

Diversification moves to the centre of growth strategies

 “Diversification is moving from the margins of strategy to its centre. The challenge for C-suite executives is not whether to diversify, but how to do it with intent across markets, supply chains, capital and technology – building resilience without creating unmanageable complexity. Of course, this will depend on the size of organisation, the sector,  and its target audience. The leaders who succeed will be those who balance ambition with flexibility, and speed with control, particularly as AI becomes both a source of productivity and thee competitive fault line against which returns, productivity, efficiency and growth is measured. Against the current backdrop, resilience comes from building flexibility into strategy, as diversification shifts from a choice to a critical condition of growth.” 

Mark Kennedy

Partner and Chief Clients & Markets Officer

Forvis Mazars Group

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The shifting trends having the biggest impact on businesses

Growth optimism remains resilient. At 92%, expectations for growth are unchanged since the start of 2026, signalling sustained ambition among C‑suite leaders, despite a more volatile backdrop. Confidence, however, is deteriorating fast. Our Confidence Index has fallen 8 points to 35%, its lowest level since the height of the pandemic in 2021. This collapse reflects a sharp rise in the salience of energy prices, supply certainty and geopolitics, alongside a growing recognition that these forces are increasingly difficult to control. Crucially, the loss of confidence is broad‑based, spilling across every strategic trend, with increased competition the sole exception.

 

Economic factors, including inflation, has moved back into the top spot

 

AI remains high but is now overshadowed by global instability.

 

Energy prices and/or shortages has jumped into the top three after a 12-month reprieve.

Capital and investment are on the move to avoid economic aftershocks

The number of businesses boosting investment across all areas is still high, but with a slight dip (down 7 points from 69% to 62%) suggesting a more cautious approach. On closer analysis, investment is being redirected from long‑term foundations such as talent, sustainability and brand, towards more immediate stabilisers and essentials like supply chain management, to manage disruption in the current climate. The same pragmatism is evident in growth strategies. Strategic alliances and joint ventures have just edged out private equity as the preferred route to scale and funding, but the clear appetite for both reflects the need for flexibility, shared risk and access to capabilities compared with the traditional balance‑sheet expansion approach alone. Notably, over half of leaders (and across every region) have diversified resources in the past six months in response to geopolitical developments, compared with around a quarter that have adopted or accelerated friendshoring, offshoring or near‑shoring plans. Meanwhile, cost pressures are increasingly being passed through to customers, with less businesses absorbing costs, testing pricing power and loyalty.

Remapping operations, trade and expansion for favourable market conditions

C-suite leaders are remapping operational plans and trading relationships. Increased activity in this area reinforces the expansion plans identified at the beginning of the year, but with greater emphasis on diversifying targeted destinations. Businesses are focusing expansion closer to home – both domestically and in neighbouring markets. At the same time, Greater China, Latin America and Australia/Asia‑Pacific are the top destinations planned for increased trade. Central and Eastern Europe also stands out as the only market attracting interest from all neighbouring and distant regions. 

AI enters its returns era revealing a variance from initial intent now to impact

Businesses are now confirming concrete returns on AI investments and the specific extent of those returns. Overall, this is positive against the current backdrop as leaders start to sharpen how they measure transformation success and their use cases – from initial intent to valuable impact. They’re now placing greater emphasis on the external gains of productivity and customer satisfaction, paying less attention to internal adoption initiatives that were in focus six months earlier.  C-suite leaders still want better decisions and a competitive edge through transformation, but they’re no longer relying on a single route to get there.

Navigating global market conditions

Fresh data from our mid-year C-suite barometer highlights the steadfast growth ambitions of businesses, the increasing complexities from ongoing uncertainty and the shift in how leaders are navigating global markets. Diversification is now the critical condition for growth in today’s climate, but diversification starts with pragmatism. Chief Economist George Lagarias explores the various market conditions...

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Diversification moves to the centre of growth

Mid-year findings point to a meaningful shift in C-suite strategies, with a clear indication of what matters most for businesses in the long-term as they navigate current market conditions. Diversification comes through strongly as the defining approach business leaders are taking – from their operations, businesses models and expansion plans, to future funding and their products/services. We’re also...

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Contacts

C-suite barometer

Every year, we conduct research to understand the priorities and issues at the heart of our clients’ businesses. Our C-suite barometer gathers the views of executives from all over the world, giving us valuable insight into key topics on their agenda, the trends and transformations they expect to impact their company, the challenges and opportunities they are facing and their outlook for the year...

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