“This jump in optimism reflects the resolution of uncertainty about the presidential election, combined with a sense that the tax and regulatory policies of the new administration will broadly benefit the corporate sector,” said John Graham, a Duke Fuqua School of Business finance professor and the academic director of the survey. “A similar surge in business optimism occurred the first time President Trump was elected in 2016.” View the full results >
How Did the U.S. Elections Impact Firms' Outlook for the Economy?
CFOs’ optimism about the overall economy increased sharply and broadly in Q4 relative to Q3. Averaged across all respondents, optimism about the economy increased 5.3 points, while own-firm optimism increased 1.8 points since last quarter – both strikingly similar to the increases observed after the 2016 U.S. elections.
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