When it comes to CFOs’ economic outlook, company size matters.
In a broad U.S. Bank survey of 1,000 senior finance leaders at large and midsized companies, 57% of those at organizations generating more than $5 billion in annual revenue said they feel positive about the U.S. economy over the next year.
But on the other end of the size scale, at companies with revenue between $100 million and $250 million, just 24% felt the same. A similar breakdown, 64% to 31%, respectively, applied to respondents’ feelings about their own companies’ financial prospects.
“Many of the pressures we’re seeing, from managing input-cost swings and pricing dynamics to funding technology and strengthening risk management, can be simply harder to navigate for midsize firms with fewer resources to absorb surprises,” said Katie Simpson, central regional executive for U.S. Bank’s Institutional Client Group, in the report.
Large companies are also getting better results from artificial intelligence, according to the survey, which was conducted between March 19 and April 14 and resulted in the sixth edition of U.S. Bank’s CFO Insights Report since the first was published in 2021.
Respondents at the large companies said that, on average, they measured ROI across 49% of AI investments, with 56% of those generating positive ROI. By comparison, the smaller companies measured value for just 36% of AI investments, of which only 39% delivered positive value.
Another difference between large and smaller companies involved the emerging practice of using stablecoins as a payment method. A quarter (24%) of respondents said they had begun doing so within the 12 months prior to taking the survey, but that broke down to 41% for the larger companies and 15% for the smaller ones.
In other survey results, finance executives continued to place cutting costs and driving efficiencies at the top of their priority list, with 39% ranking it among their three highest priorities.
Their second priority, though, was a change from U.S. Bank’s surveys since 2022. Almost a third (31%) of respondents make revenue growth a top-three priority, up solidly from 23% in mid-2024 and the greatest proportion since 35% in early 2021.
Improving cash flow was another increased priority, with 27% placing it in their top three compared with 17% to 18% in each of the prior four surveys.
As to risk factors, geopolitical tension and war came out on top, with 35% of respondents calling it one of their top three risks. Next were high inflation (34%), high borrowing costs (31%), cyberattacks/data breaches (31%), talent shortages (27%), regulatory changes (26%) and changing customer demands and expectations (24%).
