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The main concern faced CEOs of American companies As 2026 begins, there is economic uncertainty, which is a bigger concern for American business leaders than their global counterparts, according to a new report.
The Conference Board released a survey of more than 1,700 executives, including more than 750 CEOs, from North America, Europe and Asia, revealing a difference in the top concerns facing corporate CEOs in the US and those around the world.
Uncertainty was leading economic care among U.S. CEOs by 2026, with 43% of respondents seeing this as the biggest threat, followed by 35% citing the risk of a downturn or recession.
Among CEOs worldwide, an economic downturn or recession was the biggest threat to 2026 for 36% of respondents, while uncertainty came in second, with 29% calling it the biggest economic threat.
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The Conference Board published a survey of more than 1,700 executives, including more than 750 CEOs, from North America, Europe and Asia. (iStock)
“As we head to 2026, CEOs must deal with converging pressures on profits and growth. At the same time, these forces are driving innovation, with most CEOs worldwide focused on innovating their business models,” said Dana M. Peterson, chief economist at The Conference Board.
The survey also asked CEOs about their views on the workforce, which found that despite the labor market While growth is slowing, American workers are still exercising their bargaining power in the hiring process.
More than a quarter, 27%, of US CEOs cite “expectations of higher compensation” as a key hiring challenge – a figure that surpasses Asia (19%) and Europe (15%).
The top priority of US CEOs in increasing the profitability of their companies was making business model changes, as 60% of CEOs cited.
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Measuring the ROI of AI investments will be front and center on CEOs’ minds in 2026. (iStock / iStock)
The main focus of the CEOs is on artificial intelligence (AI) for 2026 was cited as an attempt to measure return on investment (ROI), with 46% saying they want to improve data quality and quantity to measure their ROI. Measuring ROI is also the top AI priority among global CEOs, although the share is lower at 33%.
US CEOs are also more pessimistic about the impact of AI on their companies in 2026, with 38% saying AI will negatively impact their companies this year due to social, demographic and economic impacts. technological shifts.
That pessimism is shared by CEOs worldwide: 30% expect a negative impact on their companies that will outweigh climate events (17%) and political polarization (26%).
AI was also a key investment priority cited by 39% of CEOs, and its integration was also the top supply chain priority for US CEOs.
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Economic uncertainty was US CEOs’ top concern for 2026. (Qian Weizhong/VCG via Getty Images)
While the survey found that CEOs in several regions cited their home region as their top expansion priority, the most frequently mentioned regions overall were the US and Canada, with 53% of respondents saying this would be their expansion priority.
The top geopolitical threat cited by CEOs was: cyber attackswhich 54% of US CEOs and 47% of global CEOs consider their top concern.
Right behind the cyber attacks were the geopolitical threats of uncertainty and armed conflicts.
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Although war was not a top priority among American CEOs, their counterparts around the world were more concerned, as CEOs in Japan ranked the war in the Asia-Pacific region first, European CEOs ranked the war in Europe third, and CEOs from other parts of Asia ranked the war in the Middle East third.
