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CFO Signals

Deloitte’s North American CFO Signals survey is a quarterly survey that captures the perspectives and actions of chief financial officers from some of North America’s largest and most influential businesses. The survey gauges CFO sentiment across a number of fronts, including the economy, capital markets, and the issues keeping them up at night.

FEATURED INSIGHT

CFO confidence score rebounds

6.1

The CFO confidence score reentered the high category in the third quarter of 2026, rising to 6.1 from 5.9 in Q2.

CFO confidence score

CFO confidence rebounded in Q3, coming in at 6.1. This is the first increase in confidence in 2026. The score likely reflects respondents’ continued optimism about their organizations’ future prospects.

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Assessment of regional economies

Despite a slight decline in their 12-month outlook this quarter, respondents’ views of the North American economy held generally steady since Q2. Meanwhile, only 15% of CFOs surveyed say China’s economy is good now, but 44% think it will be better in a year, up from 31% last quarter.

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Own-company prospects & growth metrics

Respondents continue to express strong confidence in their own organizations despite mixed views of the broader economic landscape, indicating they may trust their own preparedness more than they trust the market environment.

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Risk appetite

Risk tolerance fell in Q3, with 53% of CFOs surveyed now considering it a good time to take greater risks, compared to 59% in the Q2 survey. Despite the dip, Q3 risk appetite is still higher than the two-year average of 51.7%.

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Biggest internal and external risks

Cybersecurity emerged as the greatest external risk in Q3, followed closely by the economy, inflation, and supply chain disruption.

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Capital markets in the latest quarter

83% of CFOs surveyed consider US equity markets “overvalued” in Q3, an increase of 34 percentage points since Q2. Meanwhile, equity and debt financing attractiveness held steady, with a slight increase in debt attractiveness.

Explore capital market insights

Table of contents

Assessment of regional economies Own-company prospects and growth metrics Risk appetite Biggest internal and external risks Capital markets in the latest quarter Continue the conversation

CFO confidence

What it measures: Overall CFO sentiment in the current quarter about economic and business conditions

KEY TAKEAWAY

The CFO confidence score, which slipped to 5.9 in Q2, rebounded to 6.1 in Q3. This puts it back in the high category (ratings between 6.0 and 7.9), but still not as high as it was at the end of 2025.

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Confidence level

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Methodology Note

Deloitte’s CFO confidence score is a measure of overall CFO sentiment in the current quarter about economic and business conditions. In short, this formula averages the scores of the five current and five future business environment questions in the survey, and then discounts the US equity markets and equity financing conditions by 80%, and discounts debt-financing conditions by 50%. Scores are as follows: “very low” (1 to 3), “low” (3 to 5), “medium” (5 to 6), “high” (6 to 8), and “very high” (8 to 10). The typical range observed in the score for the last 20 quarters is between 4 and 7.

Assessment of regional economies

What it measures: What CFOs think of the status of five key regional economies (North America, Europe, China, Asia excluding China, and South America), both today and a year from now.

KEY TAKEAWAY

Respondents’ views of the North American economy remained broadly stable, but perspectives on the current and future status of Europe’s economy weakened. Despite CFOs’ continued concerns about the current state of the Chinese economy, their 12-month outlook for China and other Asian markets improved.

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Own-company prospects and growth metrics

Own-company prospects

What it measures: CFOs’ assessment of their organization’s future financial prospects compared with the past three months. Choices range from “significantly more optimistic” to “significantly less optimistic.”

KEY TAKEAWAY

Ninety percent of surveyed CFOs say they’re significantly or somewhat more optimistic about the financial prospects for their companies this quarter—a continued high from Q2.

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Growth metrics

What it measures: The 12-month outlook for CFO’s organizations across six key indicators: revenues, earnings, dividends, capital allocation, domestic hiring, and domestic wages and salaries

KEY TAKEAWAY

Most respondents continue to make only minor adjustments to growth metrics forecasts. Reported CFO predictions for earnings and wages both dropped slightly since Q2, while revenue predictions slightly increased, from 4.5% in Q2 to 4.6% in Q3.

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Risk appetite

What it measures: A CFO’s current risk tolerance. The line indicates the percentage of survey participants who say now is a good time to be taking greater risks.

KEY TAKEAWAY

Although risk appetite declined among surveyed CFOs since Q2, more than half (53%) still say now is a good time to take greater risks. This is higher than the two-year average of 51.7%.

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Methodology Note

The number of respondents for each industry varies.

Biggest internal and external risks

What it measures: CFOs’ views on the biggest risks to their organizations. Respondents are asked to select the three external and three internal risks to their organizations that concern them most. The list of answer choices is updated when needed to reflect changes in the risk landscape.

KEY TAKEAWAY

Cybersecurity now tops the list for biggest external risks, with 50% of CFOs expressing this worry in the Q3 survey. The economy and inflation follow closely.

Capital markets in the latest quarter

Among CFOs surveyed, there was a spike in perceptions that US equity markets are overvalued, with 83% of CFOs holding this belief compared to 49% in Q2. Despite this, equity attractiveness remained flat in Q3, while debt attractiveness increased four percentage points.

How do you regard US equity market valuations?

What it measures: Sentiment about stock prices in the United States in the latest reported quarter

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How do you regard equity financing?

What it measures: Respondents’ views on the desirability of issuing stock to raise capital

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How do you regard debt financing?

What it measures: Respondents’ views on the desirability of borrowing money to raise capital

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Deloitte’s CFO Program is designed to help finance leaders leverage experiences, insights, and peer groups to break through personal barriers, transform thinking, and approach top-of-mind issues with fresh perspectives.

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Ed Hardy

US finance services leader | Partner

Deloitte Insights and our research centers deliver proprietary research designed to help organizations turn their aspirations into action.

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