Risk appetite among CFOs is down amid trade uncertainty, survey finds
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Take a risk? The vast majority of chief financial officers say now is not the time, per a survey released by Deloitte Tuesday morning.
Why it matters: Tariff uncertainty is leaving companies in a holding pattern, even as the markets mostly ignore the back-and-forth on economic policy coming from the White House.
- Risk-taking for CFOs is a good thing, typically — it means taking chances on new lines of business, making acquisitions, or entering into other kinds of investment, all actions that lead to economic growth.
How it works: For its CFO Signals survey Deloitte polled 200 CFOs at North American companies, with at least $1 billion in revenue, from June 4 to June 18.
By the numbers: Just 23% of CFOs surveyed rated the North American economy as "good now," compared to 50% in the first-quarter survey.
- And only 33% of these executives said it's a good time to take on more risk, down from 60% in the first quarter, when optimism about the new administration was soaring.
- CFOs said top external risks included the economy (53%), cybersecurity (51%) and interest rates (43%).
Reality check: Risk appetite is still higher than it was last year, toward the end of former president Biden's term and ahead of the election, when only 12% of CFOs said it was a good time for risk-taking.
Zoom in: There's a high level of uncertainty in the CFO universe now, says Steve Gallucci, Deloitte's global and U.S. CFO program leader.
- He mentions trade policy, geopolitical turmoil in the Middle East and the continuing tensions between the U.S. and China.
The intrigue: Monday's flurry of tariff letters from the White House seemed to ratchet up the trade war — precisely at a moment when observers thought things were reaching a more firm end point.
The bottom line: When the survey took place, companies were still awaiting the end of the so-called pause on tariffs, hoping for certainty.
- That is now somehow even further away.
