2026 C-Suite Outlook & Sentiment Study

Learn what your C-Suite peers are planning for in 2026! Participate in this important study by taking a brief survey (est. 5 minutes) and be the first to receive a complimentary copy of the results of the 2026 C-Suite Outlook & Sentiment Study. All responses are anonymous and strictly confidential.

With a backdrop of rapidly changing business and economic environments, extraordinary geo/political risk, and ongoing talent challenges, what are CEOs, COOs, CFOs and related executives doing differently to manage in 2026 and beyond?

The annual C-Suite Outlook & Sentiment Study seeks to understand how these macro-economic trends are shaping planning, strategy, priorities and outlooks.

Be sure to register for the 2026 C-Suite Outlook & Sentiment Study Results – Webcast and Panel Discussion on Tuesday January 27, 1 pm CST (copy/paste following link): https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/2626506131010608217

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* 1. What keeps you up at night? Greatest concern(s)? (Rate all that Apply 1 – 3; 1 being of highest concern)

	1	2	3	N/A
Organization Financial Performance	Organization Financial Performance 1	Organization Financial Performance 2	Organization Financial Performance 3	Organization Financial Performance N/A
Talent/Retention/Recruitment	Talent/Retention/Recruitment 1	Talent/Retention/Recruitment 2	Talent/Retention/Recruitment 3	Talent/Retention/Recruitment N/A
Interest Rates	Interest Rates 1	Interest Rates 2	Interest Rates 3	Interest Rates N/A
Recession	Recession 1	Recession 2	Recession 3	Recession N/A
Inflation	Inflation 1	Inflation 2	Inflation 3	Inflation N/A
Geo-Political Risk	Geo-Political Risk 1	Geo-Political Risk 2	Geo-Political Risk 3	Geo-Political Risk N/A
Other	Other 1	Other 2	Other 3	Other N/A

(please list)

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* 2. What is your overall prediction of your organization’s financial performance in 2026 vs. 2025?

2026 will achieve better financial performance than 2025

2026 will have similar financial performance as 2025

2026 will have lower financial performance than 2025

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* 3. Please rate your organization’s financial metrics for 2026 vs 2025:

	Decrease	Stay the Same	Increase	N/A
Revenue	Revenue Decrease	Revenue Stay the Same	Revenue Increase	Revenue N/A
Gross Margin	Gross Margin Decrease	Gross Margin Stay the Same	Gross Margin Increase	Gross Margin N/A
Sales/General/Administrative (SG&A) costs	Sales/General/Administrative (SG&A) costs Decrease	Sales/General/Administrative (SG&A) costs Stay the Same	Sales/General/Administrative (SG&A) costs Increase	Sales/General/Administrative (SG&A) costs N/A
Profits	Profits Decrease	Profits Stay the Same	Profits Increase	Profits N/A
Organization Headcount	Organization Headcount Decrease	Organization Headcount Stay the Same	Organization Headcount Increase	Organization Headcount N/A
Other	Other Decrease	Other Stay the Same	Other Increase	Other N/A

(please list)

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* 4. How will the potential business, economic and political uncertainties impact your organization’s 2026 spending plans?

We plan to reduce spending and budgets in 2026 in comparison to 2025

We plan to maintain spending and budgets in 2026 in comparison to 2025

We plan to increase spending and budgets in 2026 in comparison to 2025

Other (please specify)

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* 5. What will be your organization’s work environment plans for 2026?

HYBRID combination of ONSITE and REMOTE

Fully ONSITE

Fully REMOTE

Other (please specify)

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* 6. What are your organization’s 2026 Hiring plans by Function?

	Decrease	Stay the Same	Increase	N/A
Operations including Labor	Operations including Labor Decrease	Operations including Labor Stay the Same	Operations including Labor Increase	Operations including Labor N/A
HR	HR Decrease	HR Stay the Same	HR Increase	HR N/A
Clerical/Administrative	Clerical/Administrative Decrease	Clerical/Administrative Stay the Same	Clerical/Administrative Increase	Clerical/Administrative N/A
Marketing	Marketing Decrease	Marketing Stay the Same	Marketing Increase	Marketing N/A
Sales/Customer Support	Sales/Customer Support Decrease	Sales/Customer Support Stay the Same	Sales/Customer Support Increase	Sales/Customer Support N/A
Engineering/Technical	Engineering/Technical Decrease	Engineering/Technical Stay the Same	Engineering/Technical Increase	Engineering/Technical N/A
Finance/Accounting	Finance/Accounting Decrease	Finance/Accounting Stay the Same	Finance/Accounting Increase	Finance/Accounting N/A
IT/Technology	IT/Technology Decrease	IT/Technology Stay the Same	IT/Technology Increase	IT/Technology N/A
Procurement	Procurement Decrease	Procurement Stay the Same	Procurement Increase	Procurement N/A
Executive Level	Executive Level Decrease	Executive Level Stay the Same	Executive Level Increase	Executive Level N/A
Legal	Legal Decrease	Legal Stay the Same	Legal Increase	Legal N/A
Other	Other Decrease	Other Stay the Same	Other Increase	Other N/A

(please list)

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* 7. What are your organization’s 2026 plans for implementing Technology?

	Decrease	Stay the Same	Increase	N/A
AI and/or Automation	AI and/or Automation Decrease	AI and/or Automation Stay the Same	AI and/or Automation Increase	AI and/or Automation N/A
Digital Transformation	Digital Transformation Decrease	Digital Transformation Stay the Same	Digital Transformation Increase	Digital Transformation N/A
Cybersecurity	Cybersecurity Decrease	Cybersecurity Stay the Same	Cybersecurity Increase	Cybersecurity N/A
Cloud/Data Storage	Cloud/Data Storage Decrease	Cloud/Data Storage Stay the Same	Cloud/Data Storage Increase	Cloud/Data Storage N/A
ERP Software/Systems	ERP Software/Systems Decrease	ERP Software/Systems Stay the Same	ERP Software/Systems Increase	ERP Software/Systems N/A
Business Intelligence	Business Intelligence Decrease	Business Intelligence Stay the Same	Business Intelligence Increase	Business Intelligence N/A
Project Management	Project Management Decrease	Project Management Stay the Same	Project Management Increase	Project Management N/A
Other	Other Decrease	Other Stay the Same	Other Increase	Other N/A

(please list)

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* 8. What is your title or role?

CEO or President

COO or Operations

CFO or Controller

Other C-Suite

Other (please specify)

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* 9. What Industry is your organization in?

Accounting / Legal

Agriculture

Business / Industrial Services

Construction

Consumer / Retail

Educational Services

Energy / Mining

Financial Services

Government

Healthcare

Insurance

Manufacturing / Distribution

Not for Profit / Faith-Based

Pharma / Biotech / Life Sciences

Professional Services / Consulting

Publishing / Media / Advertising / Marketing

Real Estate

Restaurant / Hospitality / Recreation

Software / Technology

Transportation

Utilities / Telecommunications

Other (please specify)

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* 10. Approximately how many employees does your organization have?

1-49

50-99

100-249

250-499

500-999

1000-4999

5000+

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* 11. What is your company’s approximate revenue?

Less than $25M

$25M to $100M

$101M to $250M

$251M to $500M

$501M to $750M

Over $750M

Don’t know or prefer not to say

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* 12. Where is your business headquartered?

United States

Canada

Europe

Other (please specify)

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* 1. What keeps you up at night? Greatest concern(s)? (Rate all that Apply 1 – 3; 1 being of highest concern)

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* 2. What is your overall prediction of your organization’s financial performance in 2026 vs. 2025?

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* 3. Please rate your organization’s financial metrics for 2026 vs 2025:

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* 4. How will the potential business, economic and political uncertainties impact your organization’s 2026 spending plans?

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* 5. What will be your organization’s work environment plans for 2026?

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* 6. What are your organization’s 2026 Hiring plans by Function?

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* 7. What are your organization’s 2026 plans for implementing Technology?

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* 8. What is your title or role?

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* 9. What Industry is your organization in?

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* 10. Approximately how many employees does your organization have?

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* 11. What is your company’s approximate revenue?

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* 12. Where is your business headquartered?

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* 13. Thank you for completing the survey! If you would like a copy of the study report, please provide your email address here.