US CFO Survey: Revenue, Price and Wage Plans
Quarterly survey of chief financial officers of US firms of all sizes, run by the Richmond and Atlanta Feds with Duke University's Fuqua School of Business, since mid-2020 in its current form.
| Indicator | Q3-2026 | Q2-2026 | Q1-2026 | Q4-2025 | Q3-2025 | Q2-2025 | Q1-2025 | Q4-2024 | Q3-2024 | Q2-2024 | Q1-2024 | Q4-2023 | Q3-2023 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Optimism (0-100 scale)2 | ||||||||||||||
| About the US economy (mean rating) | 60.35 | 60.57 | 61.67 | 60.28 | 62.66 | 60.95 | 61.94 | 65.97 | 60.57 | 60.81 | 60.32 | 58.11 | 56.35 | |
| About own company (mean rating) | 69.72 | 70.73 | 70.15 | 69.63 | 70.17 | 68.12 | 68.6 | 71.27 | 69.48 | 69.11 | 68.4 | 67.47 | 67.83 | |
| Expected growth for the current year (mean)5 | ||||||||||||||
| Revenue | 7.68 | 6.52 | 5.94 | 6.94 | 7.7 | 5.41 | 6.4 | 5.38 | 4.79 | 5.42 | 5.74 | 3.55 | 3.61 | |
| Prices | 5.26 | 4.66 | 3.62 | 4.28 | 4.46 | 5.13 | 3.37 | 3.13 | 3.45 | 4.1 | 4.22 | 4.22 | 5.65 | |
| Unit costs | 4.79 | 4.5 | 3.45 | 5.11 | 4.75 | 5.08 | 3.92 | 3.71 | 4.01 | 3.98 | 4.41 | 5.05 | 6.39 | |
| Employment | 4.66 | 3.58 | 2.15 | 4.3 | 3.22 | 2.29 | 2.3 | 4.59 | 5.4 | 5 | 4.75 | 4.55 | 1.05 | |
| Average wage (from 2024Q4) | 4.32 | 3.97 | 3.99 | 4.25 | 4.32 | 3.94 | 4.05 | 4.22 | ||||||
| Expected growth for next year (mean)5 | ||||||||||||||
| Revenue | 7.17 | 7.38 | 7.03 | 7.41 | 7.05 | 6.96 | 7.47 | 6.8 | 6.87 | 7.82 | 7.84 | 6.25 | 6.82 | |
| Prices | 4.53 | 4.05 | 3.57 | 3.99 | 4.08 | 4.46 | 3.47 | 3.38 | 3.81 | 4.6 | 4.74 | 4.02 | 4.13 | |
| Unit costs | 4.18 | 3.97 | 3.32 | 4.42 | 4.36 | 4.37 | 3.58 | 3.72 | 3.94 | 4.05 | 4.22 | 4.35 | 4.95 | |
| Employment | 2.45 | 2.26 | 2.36 | 2.42 | 2.35 | 2.64 | 3.17 | 3.54 | 3.2 | 4.01 | 3.66 | 3.48 | 3.89 | |
| Average wage (from 2024Q4) | 4.29 | 3.9 | 3.79 | 4.01 | 4.18 | 3.87 | 3.97 | 3.93 | ||||||
| US real GDP growth expected over the next 12 months3 | ||||||||||||||
| Mean expectation | 1.91 | 1.83 | 2.12 | 1.87 | 1.87 | 1.39 | 1.78 | 2.25 | 1.91 | 1.87 | 2.17 | 1.73 | 1.46 | |
| Median expectation | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1.94 | 1.92 | 1.34 | 2 | 2.25 | 2 | 1.92 | 2 | 1.75 | 1.48 | |
| Probability of negative growth | 10.65 | 11.59 | 10.98 | 13.3 | 13.11 | 22.43 | 14.94 | 8.51 | 12.77 | 12.59 | 9.92 | 13.54 | 19.48 | |
| S&P 500 return expectations (mean)4 | ||||||||||||||
| Expected return, next 12 months | 7.86 | 7.77 | 6.58 | 6.3 | 6.79 | 5.1 | 6.04 | 7.16 | 6.36 | 6.2 | 6.74 | 5.28 | 4.85 | |
| 10% downside threshold, next 12 months | -1.83 | -2.21 | -2.81 | -3.2 | -2.28 | -3.86 | -3.59 | -2.62 | -3.79 | -3.31 | -2.69 | -4.32 | -4.58 | |
| 10% upside threshold, next 12 months | 14.35 | 14.21 | 12.39 | 12.2 | 12.39 | 10.74 | 12.43 | 13.5 | 12.38 | 11.88 | 12.58 | 10.92 | 10.57 | |
| Expected annual return, next 10 years | 9.61 | 9.7 | 9.25 | 9.64 | 9.52 | 9.68 | 9.7 | 9.59 | 9.4 | 9.37 | 9.12 | 9 | 8.69 | |
| Share of firms planning investment in the next 6 months (surveyed twice a year)2 | ||||||||||||||
| Equipment | 54.3 | 62.55 | 61.01 | 60.78 | 62.98 | 63.64 | 63.8 | |||||||
| Structures and land | 30.3 | 32.62 | 33.94 | 37.61 | 36.22 | 39.86 | 34.05 |
Latest reading
About the US economy (mean rating) stood at 60.35 in Q3 2026. That is −0.4% from Q2 2026 and −3.7% from a year earlier. The series on this page is quarterly and runs from Q2 2020 to Q3 2026. Source: Federal Reserve Banks of Richmond and Atlanta and Duke University - The CFO Survey.
- Latest
- 60.35
- Q3 2026
- vs previous period
- −0.4%
- Q2 2026
- vs a year earlier
- −3.7%
About this data
Quarterly survey of chief financial officers of US firms of all sizes, run by the Richmond and Atlanta Feds with Duke University's Fuqua School of Business, since mid-2020 in its current form. CFOs rate their optimism about the economy and their own company on a 0-100 scale and give expected growth of their revenue, prices, unit costs, employment and wages for the current and next year - a direct read of how businesses plan to set prices and pay. The table also shows their expectation for US GDP growth and the probability they put on a contraction, their expected stock-market return, and, twice a year, the share planning to invest in equipment or structures. The wage question changed from the growth of the wage bill to the growth of the average wage in the fourth quarter of 2024, so the wage lines start there. Source: The CFO Survey (Richmond Fed, Atlanta Fed and Duke University).
Frequently asked questions
- What does the CFO Survey measure?
- It measures what chief financial officers at US firms expect for their own company and for the economy — revenue, prices, unit costs, employment and average wage growth over the next year.
- Who runs the CFO Survey and how often?
- The Federal Reserve Banks of Richmond and Atlanta run it with Duke University's Fuqua School of Business. It is quarterly, with the series on this page from the second quarter of 2020.
- How is the optimism measure scaled?
- Optimism about the US economy and about the respondent's own company is rated on a 0 to 100 scale, reported as a mean across respondents.
- How does it differ from consumer sentiment surveys?
- Consumer surveys ask households about their own finances. This one asks the executives who set prices, hiring and capital spending, so it reads on decisions rather than perceptions.
