CEOs of major companies are not feeling particularly good about the economy right now — much like everyone else.
As a group, they are slightly more confident now than they were a few months ago, right after the Iran war started, but not by much, according to the latest survey from The Conference Board and The Business Council.
CEOs’ feelings matter for everyone else — and it has been one shock after another for the C-suite these last few years.
“Tariffs last year — which they adjusted to — Ukraine before that, and now the Iran situation and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz,” said Steve Odland, CEO of The Conference Board.
Odland is also the former CEO of both AutoZone and Office Depot.
“CEOs are looking at all this,” he said. “Their supply chains are not normal, the rates of inflation are not normal, the rates of borrowing are not normal, and so they’re sitting here waiting for things to get back to normal.”
Whatever “normal” even is anymore.
Kevin Jacques, a former economist at the U.S. Department of the Treasury said some uncertainty is just part of running a business. However, the degree of uncertainty lately has made it hard for CEOs to make key decisions.
“How many people do I hire?” Jacques said. “To what degree do I invest in new plants and new equipment and new machinery? … To what degree do I raise the price of my product?”
And all of those decisions add up to have a big effect on the U.S. economy.
“It’s important for CEOs to be confident,” Jacques said. “We want the companies to grow. We want them to be profitable. We want the economy to grow.”
Right now, that’s not really happening to the degree most people would like.
“My confidence level in the U.S. economy is probably at the lowest I’ve felt since 2008,” said Matthew Hassett, founder and CEO of Loftie, which sells alarm clocks and sleep products.
Oil and freight prices, supply chain challenges, and tariffs have all made Hassett’s world difficult to navigate.
“It’s very hard to plan and to invest when you don’t know what the price of your good is going to be when you actually sell it,” Hassett said.
And it’s hard to grow the business — or hire — when it feels like at any minute, something major could happen and change the entire calculus.
