Survey: Swiss CEOs optimistic about 2026 after US trade deal

Many companies have held back investments in 2025 Keystone-SDA

US tariff policy and fears of a trade war led many Swiss companies to hold back on investments last year. Nevertheless, most company bosses are optimistic about the new year.

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According to the latest edition of the CEO survey conducted by the consulting firm EY, around eight out of ten Swiss CEOs (82%) have changed their strategic investment plans due to the changed geopolitical environment. A total of 50 Swiss CEOs were surveyed, compared with 1,200 worldwide.

Swiss CEOs were particularly likely to say that planned investments had been delayed or operational assets had been relocated to other markets (28%), according to a press release issued on Tuesday. In addition, one in ten Swiss companies surveyed had cancelled planned investments.

According to the survey, investments in Switzerland continue to be a priority for 42% of the Swiss CEOs surveyed, while new capital allocations are flowing primarily to Germany (26%) and France (18%). Overall, more than 92% of planned investments will be made in Europe.

Customs deal helps

Switzerland’s customs deal with the US in November, with a tariff rate of 15%, has led Swiss company bosses to be confident about the new year. In the survey, 78% of respondents were optimistic about global economic development over the next twelve months. Compared to the last survey in September 2025, this is an increase of 10%. According to EY, optimism in the survey was slightly lower worldwide than in Switzerland.

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The positive basic attitude is also reflected in the expectations for company performance: almost all Swiss CEOs surveyed (94%) expect sales and productivity to increase in 2026, while 86% also expect profitability to improve. The financial market conditions and capital procurement are also viewed favourably by the vast majority. Half of Swiss company managers (50%) also expect operating costs to fall in 2026.

Digitalisation and artificial intelligence

With regard to investments in 2026, almost four out of ten Swiss CEOs see digitalisation and artificial intelligence as the most important growth measures. Improving geopolitical risk management is in second place in this country with 24%, followed by localisation and regionalisation measures (12%).

Despite the geopolitical uncertainties, interest in mergers, acquisitions and strategic partnerships remains high: 62% of Swiss companies are planning at least one M&A transaction in the next twelve months. This is an increase of 22% compared to the September survey.

At the same time, Swiss managers continue to show a strong preference for establishing strategic partnerships, as these offer the advantage of minimising costs and conserving company resources. The proportion of Swiss CEOs who are aiming for at least one alliance or joint venture within the next twelve months is 80% in the survey.

Translated from German by AI/jdp

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