Irish CEOs confidence lowest in five years - PwC
Confidence among Irish chief executives has hit a five year low due to the geopolitical climate and ongoing struggles to turn AI investment into growth, according to the annual Global CEO Survey by PwC.
Just over a quarter of Irish CEOs say they are confident about revenue growth in 2026.
The survey is part of the annual worldwide poll of business leaders and has been launched at the World Economic Forum in Davos.
It found that Irish executives' confidence in their company’s revenue prospects for the year ahead has more than halved since 2022.
Just 26% express confidence about growth prospects over the next 12 months, compared to 43% in 2025 and 60% in 2022.
"The findings suggest that as CEOs navigate a complex operating environment shaped by rapid technological change, geopolitical uncertainty and economic pressure, many companies have yet to translate investment into consistent financial gains," according to a PwC statement.
Confidence among global CEOs about annual growth stands higher at 30%.
The poll found that nearly one in five Irish CEOs have seen revenue benefits from AI in the last year "while companies that have scaled AI with strong foundations are pulling ahead."
However, rising concerns about geopolitical conflict and technology disruption are adding to company pressure, with executives questioning "whether they are transforming fast enough."
According to the survey, the US remains the top destination for global investment, with interest in India doubling year-on-year.
In Ireland, the UK remains the top destination, followed by the US and Germany.
Despite the slump in sentiment, some 63% of Irish CEOs believe that the economy will improve in the year ahead, down from 74% last year.
According to the overall survey, 61% of worldwide CEOs believe the global economy will improve, compared to 58% in 2025.
Among business leaders the biggest concern is whether companies are transforming fast enough to keep pace with technological change, including AI.
Over half (51%) of Irish CEOs cite this as their top concern, compared to the global figure of 42%.
Some 17% of Irish CEOs say AI "has delivered increased revenues in the past 12 months", compared to the global figure of 29%.
"The survey points to a growing divide between companies piloting AI and those deploying it at scale," says the statement.
"Global CEOs reporting both cost and revenue gains are two to three times more likely to say they have embedded AI extensively across their business."
Take-up of AI innovations continues to be slow in Ireland compared to elsewhere.
Only 8% of Irish CEOs report AI application across a range of business areas compared to their global counterparts (18%) including demand generation, products/services/experiences and strategic direction setting.
At the same time, fewer Irish CEOs (19%) report that their organisation is able to attract high quality AI talent compared to 42% globally.
Mohamed Kande, PwC Global Chairman, said: "2026 is shaping up as a decisive year for AI. A small group of companies are already turning AI into measurable financial returns, while many others are still struggling to move beyond pilots. That gap is starting to show up in confidence and competitiveness, and it will widen quickly for those that don’t act."
External risks continue to prey on Irish business sentiment.
The survey shows that 27% of Irish CEOs report that their organisation is extremely or highly exposed to macroeconomic volatility, compared to a global figure of 31%, with geopolitical conflict as a metric of exposure rising from 13% last year to 21% this year.
Despite that, Irish businesses have not reported significant concern about tariffs.
Only 7% of Irish CEOs say that their business is highly or extremely exposed to the risk of significant financial loss from tariffs, compared to 20% for global CEOs.
At the same time, nearly a quarter (23%) say that tariffs will reduce net profits in the next 12 months.
PwC surveyed 4,454 CEOs in 95 countries from 30 September through 10 November 2025 including 57 CEOs in Ireland, well before the latest tariff threat on European countries by US President Donald Trump.
