C-suite barometer: 2026 mid-year pulse

The number of businesses boosting investment across all areas is still high, but with a slight dip (down 7 points from 69% to 62%) suggesting a more cautious approach. On closer analysis, investment is being redirected from long‑term foundations such as talent, sustainability and brand, towards more immediate stabilisers and essentials like supply chain management, to manage disruption in the current climate. The same pragmatism is evident in growth strategies. Strategic alliances and joint ventures have just edged out private equity as the preferred route to scale and funding, but the clear appetite for both reflects the need for flexibility, shared risk and access to capabilities compared with the traditional balance‑sheet expansion approach alone. In response to geopolitical and economic shocks, leaders across every region now cite diversifying resources as their primary response, chosen by more than half of executives over reshoring or near‑shoring, while cost pressures are increasingly passed through to customers, testing pricing power and loyalty.

C-suite leaders are remapping operations and where they want to increase trading relationships for their organisation. Increased activity in this area reinforces the expansion plans identified at the beginning of 2026, but with greater emphasis on diversifying towards more stable destinations. No doubt an act of self-preservation, businesses are focusing expansion closer to home – both domestically and in neighbouring markets. At the same time, there is a marked increase in planned trade with Greater China, Latin America and Australia/Asia‑Pacific as priority destinations. Central and Eastern Europe also stands out as a rare market attracting interest from all neighbouring and distant regions.

Businesses are now confirming concrete returns on AI investments and the specific extent of those returns. Overall, this is positive as it enables leaders against the current backdrop to sharpen how they measure transformation success and the priorities they potentially need to refocus against the current backdrop. They’re now placing greater emphasis on the external gains of productivity and customer satisfaction, while paying less attention than originally stated in the last six months on internal adoption initiatives. C-suite leaders still want better decisions and a competitive edge, but they’re no longer relying on a single route to get there. Instead, they’re spreading risk and opportunity across multiple markets, models and approaches.