Data & Results – Q4 2021
Dec. 2, 2021
CFOs Report Rising Costs That Could Last Through 2022
CFOs reported rising costs, growing revenues, and unchanged optimism about U.S. economic prospects in the fourth quarter.
Revisions to The CFO Survey Data
CFO Survey data from Q2 2020 to Q4 2023 have been revised in accordance with an annual revision process. Revised historical data are available for download. Comparisons of revised and previously published estimates are also available.
Historical special question results are unrevised and available on archived quarterly results pages.
For more information on the annual data revision process, please refer to The CFO Survey Methodology.
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Special Questions on Cost Increases
The fourth quarter survey included special questions on whether firms were experiencing larger than normal cost increases.
Almost 90 percent of firms reported larger-than-normal cost increases—up from 80 percent in the second quarter.
Less than 20 percent of firms expect cost increases to abate within six months. Most firms anticipate that the cost increases will last at least another 10 months, if not into 2023.
To handle the rising costs, firms reported two strategies. First, the overwhelming majority (about 80 percent) of firms experiencing these unusual cost pressures are passing on at least some of these cost increases to customers through higher prices. Second, firms report absorbing cost increases, including reducing margins, reducing costs in other areas, eliminating or substituting product offerings, adding contingency clauses into contracts, and turning down work.
For additional discussion of these results, visit our Research & Commentary section.
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