Record Concern about Tariffs Expected to Increase Costs and Prices, Reduce Hiring and Investment
Financial decision-makers’ outlooks deteriorated in the second quarter of 2025, amid record concern about the impact of trade policy. Forty percent of respondents indicated tariffs and trade policy were a pressing concern for their firm this quarter, a record share of respondents citing the same concern going back to the second quarter of 2020.
Revisions to The CFO Survey Data
CFO Survey data from Q2 2020 to Q4 2025 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.
Special Questions on Tariffs and Trade Policy
The second quarter survey asked firms how uncertainty around tariffs and trade policy have affected their expectations for the year and their planned capital expenditures. Firms were also asked if they have taken or plan to take any actions in response to additional tariffs or uncertainty. The 40 percent of firms that cited tariffs as a pressing concern were more likely than their unconcerned peers to report reducing capital expenditures, passing through cost increases, and moving up purchases. Manufacturers were more likely than non-manufacturers to take action in response to tariffs.
For additional discussion of these results, visit our Research & Commentary section.
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