Audit and assurance firm PwC's ‘2026 Global CEO Survey’ shows that only three in ten, or 30% of, CEOs say they are confident about revenue growth over the next 12 months, which is down from 38% in 2025, and 56% in 2022.

The findings suggest that, as CEOs navigate a complex operating environment shaped by rapid technological change, geopolitical uncertainty and economic pressure, many companies have yet to translate investment into consistent financial gains, PwC says.

CEOs’ confidence in their companies’ revenue prospects has fallen to its lowest level in five years, as business leaders grapple with uneven returns from AI, rising geopolitical risk and intensifying cyberthreats.

Further, one in five, or 20%, of the 4 454 CEOs surveyed across 95 countries say their organisation is highly or extremely exposed to the risk of significant financial loss from tariffs over the next 12 months.

However, exposure varies widely by region, from a low of 6% across the Middle East, to 22% of CEOs in the US, while 28% of CEOs in the Chinese Mainland and 35% in Mexico signal high exposure.

Additionally, concern about cyber-risk has risen sharply, with 31% of CEOs now citing it as a major threat, up from 24% in 2025 and 21% in 2024.

In response, 84% of CEOs say they plan to strengthen enterprise-wide cybersecurity as part of their response to geopolitical risk, PwC says in the report.

Meanwhile, CEOs reporting both cost and revenue gains are two to three times more likely to say they have embedded AI extensively across products and services, demand generation and strategic decision-making.

The survey points to a growing divide between companies piloting AI and those deploying it at scale, PwC says.

However, despite widespread experimentation, only one-in-eight, or 12% of, CEOs say AI has delivered both cost and revenue benefits.

Overall, 33% report gains in either cost or revenue, while 56% say they have seen no significant financial benefit to date, the report highlights.

However, CEOs whose organisations have established strong AI foundations, such as Responsible AI frameworks and technology environments that enable enterprise-wide integration, are three times more likely to report meaningful financial returns, PwC says.

Further, separate PwC analysis shows that companies applying AI widely to products, services and customer experiences achieved nearly four percentage points higher profit margins than those that did not.

CEOs also expressed concern about keeping pace with technological change, including AI, and 42% cite this as their top concern, which is well ahead of worries about innovation capability, or medium- to long-term viability, both cited by 29% of CEOs as top concerns.

Despite the challenging outlook, CEOs increasingly see reinvention as essential to growth. More than four in ten, or 42%, say their company has begun competing in new sectors over the past five years.

Among those planning major acquisitions, 44% expect to invest outside their current industry, with technology being the most attractive adjacent sector, PwC says.

Additionally, the survey show that 51% of CEOs plan to make international investments in the year ahead. The US remains the top destination, with 35% ranking it among their top three markets.

The UK and Germany, both cited by 13% of CEOs, and the Chinese Mainland, cited by 11%, also featured prominently as top investment destinations.

Further, interest in India has nearly doubled year-on-year, with 13% of CEOs planning international investment placing it among their top three destinations.

However, the report shows that execution gaps remain, with only one in four CEOs saying their organisation tolerates high risk in innovation projects, has disciplined processes to stop underperforming initiatives or operates a defined innovation centre or corporate venturing function.

The CEOs also report spending 47% of their time focused on issues with a horizon of less than one year, compared with 16% of time spent on decisions looking more than five years ahead.

“In periods of rapid change, the instinct to slow down is understandable, but it is also risky. The companies that succeed will be those willing to make bold decisions and invest with conviction in the capabilities that matter most,” says PwC Global chairperson Mohamed Kande.