For the first time in two years, CEOs are more optimistic than pessimistic about what's ahead for the economy.
The finding comes from the latest quarterly survey findings from The Conference Board and The Business Council, which check in on the economic outlook held by CEOs of multinational corporations across all industries.
In the Q1 survey, 32% of CEOs reported general economic conditions to be better than they were six months ago, up from 18% in Q4 2023. CEOs' expectations for short-term economic conditions brightened, with 36% expecting them to improve over the next six months, up from 19% last quarter. CEOs also assessed conditions in their own industries to be markedly better at the start of 2024.
And while optimism is up, pessimism is down. Just 22% of CEOs said economic conditions are worse than six months ago, down from 32% in Q4. Only 27% expect them to worsen, down significantly from 47% last quarter.
This marks the first time optimism prevailed in the survey since Q1 2022.
Some other key findings from the survey, which can be found in full here:
- Twenty-three percent of CEOs expect a reduction in their workforce, up from 13% last quarter.
- The majority of CEOs (51%) see political uncertainty ahead of the 2024 elections as the greatest U.S. challenge for businesses this year.
- The majority of CEOs (34%) see reduced inflation as the greatest opportunity in the U.S. economy to benefit businesses this year.