Data & Results – Q3 2023
CFOs: Interest Rates Dampen 2023 Spending; Outlook For 2024 Brighter
Financial decision-makers ranked monetary policy as their top business concern, as higher interest rates have curtailed spending at approximately 40 percent of companies. The CFO outlook is brighter for 2024, however, with higher revenues and hiring expected next year, along with smaller increases in prices and input costs.
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 Effects of Interest Rates and Other Factors on Spending
The third quarter survey asked CFOs whether the current level of interest rates and other factors were causing them to pull back on capital and non-capital spending plans. About 40 percent of CFOs said that the current level of interest rates has caused their companies to pull back on spending. The share of firms curtailing spending would grow closer to half if rates were to remain at their current level for another year. If rates were to increase another percentage point, half of the companies would dampen spending. Aside from interest rates, the top factors restraining spending were economic uncertainty, weaker demand, and hiring difficulties. For additional discussion of these results, visit our Research & Commentary section.
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