It has been several years since I last mentioned PWC’s CEO Survey, but this year it is very much in line with my current news and interests. Indeed, its 29th edition offers a detailed snapshot of executives’ priorities, risk perceptions, and investment choices in a context marked by increased uncertainty, persistent technological acceleration, and growing pressure on the performance and reliability of organizations (Leading through uncertainty in the age of AI).
Contrary to some simplistic interpretations, the report is not limited to artificial intelligence or issues of trust alone, but highlights two key areas for executives’ agendas: on the one hand, transformation, with AI, innovation, and the restructuring of business portfolios as levers for growth; and on the other, trust, approached as a measurable strategic asset directly correlated with financial performance.
In brief:
- The PwC Global CEO Survey 2026 highlights two key areas for executives: transformation (through AI, innovation, and sector restructuring) and trust (considered a measurable strategic asset linked to performance).
- Executives’ confidence in short-term growth is declining, while systemic risks (cyber, macroeconomic, geopolitical) are becoming increasingly important in their decisions.
- The adoption of AI is widespread, but its economic returns remain limited; only businesses that have integrated AI into their operating model and have strong governance are deriving measurable value from it.
- Ambitions for sector diversification and innovation are strong, but their implementation remains uneven, particularly in terms of strategic discipline and innovation organization.
- Trust, in its operational, digital, and accountability dimensions, is becoming a recognized performance factor, with an established link between trust management and shareholder returns.
A context marked by rising risks and eroding confidence in growth
First, some background information.
Business leaders’ confidence in short-term growth continues to decline. In 2026, only 30% of CEOs say they are very or extremely confident in their business’s 12-month growth prospects, compared to 38% in 2025 and 56% in 2022. This trend can be observed in most major economies.
At the same time, the perception of systemic risks is growing. 31% of executives believe they are very or extremely exposed to significant financial loss related to cyber risk, compared to 24% the previous year and 21% two years earlier. Cyber risk thus joins macroeconomic volatility among the main threats cited.
The geopolitical environment is also weighing on investment decisions. 32% of executives say that geopolitical uncertainty makes them less inclined to engage in significant investments. 29% also believe that tariffs will have a negative impact on their net margin over the next 12 months, although the majority anticipate a limited effect.
AI: widespread adoption, but limited economic returns
Artificial intelligence occupies a central place in strategic discourse, but the report highlights a persistent gap between adoption and measurable value creation, which has already been seen recently in other studies (Adoption and impact of AI: lessons (and limitations) from the latest McKinsey and BCG studies).
Over the last 12 months:
- 56% of CEOs report that AI has led to neither increased revenue nor reduced costs. This comes as no surprise to anyone who has given the subject serious thought (Without governance, the gains from AI are virtual and Technologies sell productivity, but businesses want revenue).
- 30% report an increase in revenue linked to AI.
- 26% report a decrease in costs.
- Only 12% report both increased revenue and reduced costs (AI from productivity to P&L: nothing happens by chance).
This minority constitutes what PwC refers to as the “vanguard”. The report shows that these businesses are not distinguished by the intensity of their experimentation, but by their ability to create the organizational conditions for industrialization.
Businesses that capture value have moved beyond a fragmented approach to AI. 44% of them report using AI directly in their products or services, compared to 17% for the others.
This difference suggests that the economic value of AI is less related to the ad hoc automation of tasks than to its integration into the operating model and offering. AI then becomes a component of the production system rather than an experimental overlay (AI adoption does not replace productive appropriation).
PwC also emphasizes the importance of a technological environment capable of supporting AI at scale: integration with existing systems, data quality and governance, interoperability, and security. This is a recurring theme that predates AI, but in the current context, it forces businesses to face up to their responsibilities more than ever (Digital workplace, AI, and interoperability: a problem that remains unresolved).
Organizations that struggle to achieve economic results are often those whose AI projects remain confined to isolated environments, with no continuity with decision-making, production, or customer relationship systems (Collective appropriation of AI: the only condition for tangible impact).
Leading businesses are more advanced in implementing governance mechanisms, including clear rules on authorized uses, control and supervision mechanisms, and coordination between performance, compliance, and risk management.
PwC emphasizes that the absence of such mechanisms slows down scaling, as organizations are reluctant to deploy technologies they do not fully understand on a large scale.
The results are also more convincing when AI is linked to explicit business priorities rather than opportunistic initiatives. AI is then treated as an integrated strategic lever, rather than a standalone technological issue.
The report’s bottom line is that the limitations observed in AI are less related to the maturity of the technologies than to the ability of organizations to absorb them into their day-to-day operations.
Innovation and sector restructuring: high ambitions, uneven discipline
42% of executives say their businesses have started to compete with players from other sectors in the last five years. Among those planning significant acquisitions over the next three years, 44% anticipate transactions outside their traditional sector. This is nothing new, as PWC told us the same thing… 11 years ago (Competitiveness in 2015 : digital, diversity and partnerships according to PWC).
PwC’s analysis suggests a positive correlation between the share of revenue from new sectors and higher levels of margin and confidence in growth. However, PwC points out that value creation is more likely when acquisitions target complementary capabilities rather than simply expanding the scope of the business.
When it comes to innovation, the contrast is striking. Only 8% of executives report having implemented, to a high degree, at least five of the six practices identified as conducive to innovation (risk tolerance, discontinuation of underperforming projects, external partnerships, incubators, etc.).
Trust: a strategic asset now measured and correlated with performance
One of the major contributions of the 2026 report is its in-depth treatment of trust. PwC does not approach it as an abstract concept, but as an operational and financial factor.
66% of executives report having encountered, at least to a moderate degree, trust issues in at least one area over the past 12 months: cybersecurity, data protection, use of advanced digital technologies, transparency, reporting, or climate.
PwC breaks trust down into three dimensions.
Firstly, operational trust refers to an organization’s ability to function in a reliable, resilient, and predictable manner. It concerns business continuity, process robustness, and incident management.
Next comes digital trust, which covers cybersecurity, data protection, and control of digital systems, including AI. The continued rise in cyber risk highlights the critical nature of this dimension.
Finally, there is accountability trust, which covers the quality of governance, the transparency of financial and non-financial reporting, and the ability to report decisions to stakeholders.
Unsurprisingly, PwC emphasizes that AI is now a critical area of trust. Concerns include:
- the explainability of automated decisions,
- bias management,
- personal data protection,
- clarity of human responsibilities,
- and compliance with emerging regulatory frameworks.
AI that is perceived as opaque or insufficiently regulated can undermine the trust of customers, employees, partners, and regulators. PwC highlights the importance of “Responsible AI” mechanisms, incorporating ethical principles, human supervision, and controls throughout the model lifecycle.
In a sample of listed businesses, those with the lowest level of trust-related concerns had a total shareholder return 9 points higher over 12 months than those with the most concerns.
Trust thus appears to be an economic factor in its own right, rather than a peripheral constraint.
Two distinct pillars, one requirement for management
The report does not suggest a direct causal link between AI and trust, but it does show that leaders must simultaneously manage the levers of transformation and increased requirements for reliability, security, and transparency.
AI illustrates this perfectly: a performance lever on the one hand, and a potential source of digital trust and liability risks on the other. More broadly, the ability to transform a business can no longer be separated from the ability to control its systemic effects.
Bottom line
The PwC Global CEO Survey 2026 does not deliver a radically new or unexpected message, but rather an accurate diagnosis. It shows that value creation now depends as much on the ability to transform the business as on the ability to maintain its perceived reliability.
Despite its potential, AI only produces measurable economic results in a minority of organizations. Trust, meanwhile, is emerging as a measurable strategic asset that correlates with financial performance. These two topics are not to be confused, but together they shape the agenda of business leaders.
The report therefore encourages us to look beyond a purely technological or reputational perspective and address these issues as questions of overall business management, at the intersection of strategy, operations, governance, and risk.
To answer your questions…
The report shows a clear erosion of confidence among executives in the short-term growth outlook. In 2026, only 30% of CEOs say they are very or extremely confident about the next 12 months, compared with 38% in 2025 and 56% in 2022. This decline reflects an environment marked by macroeconomic, geopolitical, and technological uncertainty, which is prompting executives to adopt a more cautious stance on investment and value creation.
According to the report, 56% of executives believe that AI has generated neither increased revenue nor reduced costs over the past twelve months. PwC attributes this finding to organizational rather than technological limitations. AI projects often remain isolated, poorly integrated into key processes, and insufficiently linked to clear business priorities, which hinders their scaling and real economic impact.
The minority of businesses known as “vanguard” businesses stand out for their ability to industrialize AI. They integrate it directly into their products, services, and operating models, rather than multiplying ad hoc use cases. They also have clear governance mechanisms in place, combining performance, risk management, and compliance, and treat AI as a strategic lever that is fully aligned with their business objectives.
PwC observes a strong trend toward sector restructuring, with 42% of executives now competing with players from other sectors. Businesses generating revenue outside their traditional scope show higher margins and greater confidence in growth on average. However, value creation depends heavily on strategic discipline, particularly when acquisitions target complementary capabilities rather than simply expanding business activities.
The report shows that trust has a direct impact on financial performance. PwC breaks it down into operational, digital, and accountability trust. AI is becoming a key issue in this trust, due to risks related to opacity, bias, and compliance. Businesses with the fewest trust concerns have significantly higher shareholder returns, confirming its economic role.
Image credit: Image generated by artificial intelligence via ChatGPT (OpenAI)
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