Confidence in the economy hits four-year high for investors and executives
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Among executives and investors, confidence in the economy is at four-year highs, two new surveys find.
Why it matters: It's a sign that companies are ready to spend money and hire — good news for the economy heading into a new year — but it's also the kind of optimism that in the past has preceded economic slowdowns.
Zoom in: Chief financial officers' confidence in the final quarter of 2025 hit its highest point since 2021, according to Deloitte's CFO Signals survey out Wednesday morning.
How it works: Deloitte polled 200 CFOs at North American companies with at least $1 billion in revenue from Nov. 14 - Dec. 8.
- The survey measured executives' optimism about overall economic and business conditions on a scale of 1 to 10.
By the numbers: Confidence rose to 6.6 in the fourth quarter from 5.7 in the previous quarter and 5.8 a year ago — considered medium levels.
- Nearly six in 10 chief financial officers surveyed said now is a good time to take a risk.
Investors are feeling it, too. Optimism about the economy among more than 200 fund managers hit its highest level since August 2021, says a survey from Bank of America also out this week.
The big picture: Executives are less uncertain then they were earlier this year about big policy shifts like tariffs and regulation, and about interest rates.
- "When you take a step back and look at the main drivers of the macroeconomy that a CFO needs to contemplate, those things are probably as settled as they've been in the last five or six quarters," Steve Gallucci, global and U.S. leader of Deloitte's CFO program, tells Axios.
Yes, but: The comparison to 2021 is a bit worrying. Confidence was high then, and the next year stocks tanked and inflation soared to historic highs.
Thought bubble via Axios Markets' Madison Mills: A similar level of optimism was seen among fund managers just before the global financial crisis.
- Warren Buffett would remind investors to be fearful when others are greedy.
The bottom line: Still, the C-suite vibes are up.
