U.S. Bank CFO survey shows rising optimism on growth and M&A
The survey of 1,000 senior finance leaders found a stronger outlook for the U.S. economy and company finances, with revenue growth and M&A climbing as priorities. It also said AI spending is creating opportunity even as costs run over budget.
S. S. Bank CFO Insights Report. The three-year outlook for the economy rose to 68% from 58% in the spring, while 71% are positive about their company’s three-year financial prospects, up from 64%.
Revenue growth is now nearly level with cost-cutting as a top priority, and exploring M&A opportunities is also among the top three priorities. On AI, 69% said it is creating meaningful commercial opportunity for their business, while 51% said their own spending on AI tools exceeded budget over the past year. S. S.
economy, up from the spring. Cutting costs remained the top finance priority at 37%, but revenue growth was close behind at 35% as finance leaders gave it more weight. Exploring M&A opportunities moved from the fifth-ranked priority earlier this year into the top three, and the shift was not uniform across industries. S.
Bank vice chair and head of wealth, corporate, commercial and institutional banking, said the spring survey showed finance leaders still see largely the same risks, but their optimism has improved and their priorities have shifted. He said companies are increasingly prepared to take action rather than let uncertainty delay important strategic decisions. Technology, consumer and retail finance leaders are putting more emphasis on growth than cost-cutting, while manufacturing and utilities remain focused on costs. In manufacturing, 60% of finance leaders cite cost-cutting as a top priority versus 34% for revenue growth.
Manufacturing also ranks among the strongest M&A sectors, with 78% of finance leaders expecting industry deal activity to rise, above the 59% national figure. In addition, 66% say their firm is more likely to acquire, compared with 57% nationally. S. economy has improved, with 41% reporting a positive 12-month outlook, up from 36% earlier this year.
By contrast, 71% have a positive three-year outlook for their company's financial prospects, up from 64% in the spring. Half report a positive 12-month outlook. The survey shows 45% of respondents are upbeat on growth, while in oil and gas just 30% say they are positive on the economy versus 60% on their own business. Geopolitical tension and war is the most-cited risk at 38%, followed by high borrowing costs at 35% and high inflation at 34%.
Still, 71% of finance leaders say geopolitical uncertainty and volatility are both an opportunity and a risk, up from 61% at the start of the year. Inflation is prompting firms to invest in productivity rather than cut jobs, with 72% of finance leaders saying they are using AI and automation to help manage price pressure. Reducing headcount ranks last among nine measured responses at 28%. AI investment across the economy is seen as creating meaningful commercial opportunity by 69% of respondents, but 51% say their own AI tool costs have exceeded budget over the past year.
Agentic AI is moving into finance operations, with cash forecasting and liquidity management, as well as fraud prevention and cybersecurity, leading current use cases. 99 million to 74% at companies with revenue above $5 billion. A majority of companies remain underhedged on commodity risks, with 54% saying their business is underhedged on commodity price risks. S.
S. businesses across multiple sectors. Nearly half of the respondents are company, regional or divisional CFOs, while the rest are senior managers in finance functions. All finance leaders surveyed work for companies with at least $100 million in annual revenue, and 30% work for businesses with at least $2 billion.
S. S. Bank National Association, which it describes as the fifth-largest commercial bank in the United States. The bank says its three major business lines serve 15 million clients globally, and its workforce is nearly 70,000 people.
S. Bank said it is focused on powering human potential every day. The bank said it is ranked 110th on the Fortune 500 and described itself as deeply respected for its culture and long-term stewardship, with a diversified business mix and product capabilities. S.
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