Finance chiefs and investors appear to be at odds over the fate of the global economy in the near term.
In a survey released Tuesday by New York-based consulting firm Teneo, over three-quarters of investors said they expect economic conditions to improve in the second half of 2025. That compares to just 43% of CFOs who hold the same view.
Why precisely the two groups differ isn’t clear; the survey didn’t ask respondents to share reasons for their optimism or pessimism. But Christian Buss, co-head of investor relations at Teneo, said investors’ responses show “there could be a floor to the level of uncertainty we’ve seen over the last several months.”
The results stem from a survey conducted May 16-29 of 132 global CFOs and 200 institutional investors.
The CFO crowd and the investor crowd also held differing views on the prospect of finding capital for the remainder of the year: 68% of CFOs feel optimistic about access to capital markets versus 91% of investors.
What may unite CFOs and investors is concern about the prospect of mergers and acquisitions. Teneo’s survey found over 50% of CFOs and almost 40% of investors see “market volatility as the leading barrier to deals.” Geopolitical uncertainty and the higher cost of capital were also cited among the top disruptions to deals, according to Teneo.
Across the board, respondents also said they’re optimistic about debt market access (81% of CFOs and 89% of investors) and the impact of private equity (70% of CFOs and 87% of investors).
Among the CFO respondents, there was also a notable difference in sentiment by geography. Fifty-three percent of U.S.-based finance chiefs expect economic improvement in the latter half of the year compared to just 29% of international CFOs. Buss said the “relative bearishness of global CFOs” is worth noting.
“It’s a clear sign that changes to the global trade environment we all have been grappling with over the last two months are having wide-ranging impacts across economies and industries,” Buss said.
More than half of CFO respondents (55%) were based in the U.S. On the investor side, just 27% were based in the U.S.
For their part, CFOs said they’re already making adjustments to their operations in light of “economic headwinds, including tariffs,” per the report. “CFOs are re-examining the location of manufacturing hubs globally, with a full 86% saying they are actively reshaping global supply chains, while also reconsidering CapEx and general corporate spending,” wrote Teneo CEO Paul Keary in the report’s introduction.
Teneo has been issuing similar surveys of CEOs in the past, but this week’s report marks the first for finance chiefs. In the report, Keary said the new report came at the request of respondents in prior surveys: “Given the rapid pace of change around the world, respondents suggested that we also mine the views of CFOs, given their key role in capital allocation and financial strategy.”
