PwC’s CEO Survey Snapshot August 2026
The movement among individual CEOs also tilts slightly positive. Nearly 60% of the 351 CEOs we returned to reported a change in their confidence levels, with confidence rising for a third (33%) and falling for 26%.
These modest upticks are all the more noteworthy given the macroeconomic storms CEOs are sailing through. Around 70% of CEOs say their company’s energy and non-energy costs have increased because of global shocks in 2026. That finding is consistent with what companies are seeing in traded markets, where energy, metals, and logistics costs have remained sensitive to geopolitical disruption.
Some are experiencing a more demanding management environment as a result. Roughly a quarter of CEOs (27%) say pricing decisions have become more challenging to a large or very large extent, as cost swings test pricing power. A similar share (26%) say the same about supply chain management, as companies try to maintain reliability without letting costs run away.
