Confidential Briefing · In Production
What the world's biggest CEO studies reveal about how leaders of $1M–$500M+ companies are growing, adopting AI, and holding up heading into 2026.
7,000+ CEOs in the data
7 leading studies
95 countries
CEO Coaching International Research · 2026
Confidential Briefing
The State of the CEO
A synthesis of 7 leading CEO studies covering 7,000+ chief executives.
Synthesized from:
The Conference Board
WSJ CEO Council
Business Roundtable
PwC
KPMG
EY-Parthenon
Macro & wellbeing research
A preview
Six findings from the briefing in production. Each is sourced, dated, and traced back to the originating study, with a "what it means for you" read-out for operating CEOs.
71%
of CEOs see higher costs from tariffs, and 44% are passing them through to customers.
Source: The Conference Board / WSJ CEO Council, 2025-2026
52%
of large-company CEOs plan to increase capital spending. Only 32% plan to increase headcount.
Source: Business Roundtable CEO Economic Outlook, 2026
71%
rank AI as their #1 investment for 2026, but 56% say they've seen no significant financial benefit yet.
Source: KPMG / PwC CEO surveys, 2025-2026
71%
of CEOs report at least occasional burnout, and 50% report significant loneliness at the top, both driven by how CEO time is allocated.
Source: Macro and CEO wellbeing research, 2025-2026
Figures on this page are from CEO Coaching International research, 2026. The full report is in production; cite the underlying studies named above until it publishes.
Finding 01 of 06
43% of large-company CEOs expect the economy to improve. Only 27% of small & mid-size CEOs agree.
Locked
Finding 02 of 06
Tariffs are the one pressure every CEO shares, and they're forcing a pricing decision.
Locked
Finding 03 of 06
CEOs are opening the checkbook (52% raising capex) and quietly freezing the org chart (32% hiring).
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Finding 04 of 06
86% expect AI agents as team members within a year. Only 12% report gains in both cost and revenue.
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Finding 05 of 06
With organic growth harder to find, 46% are turning to M&A for technology, talent, and scale.
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Finding 06 of 06
71% burnout. 61% say isolation hinders performance. 55% faced a mental-health issue in the past year.
Locked
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Figures on this page are from CEO Coaching International research, 2026. The full report is in production; cite the underlying studies named above until it publishes. How we measure this
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