At a Glance

  • A Deloitte spokesperson said the company decided not to release its Q1 2025 CFO Signals report—a quarterly survey of finance chiefs published by one of the Big Four accounting firms since 2010—because of significant changes in the economic environment since the survey was conducted in late February.
  • "Given the significant changes in the economic environment since the survey was fielded in late February, we believe the results may no longer accurately reflect current CFO sentiment. Therefore, the traditional report will not be published," the spokesperson wrote in an email to CFO Dive on Wednesday. Deloitte did not respond to a request for further comment.
  • Deloitte's last published Q4 Signals report showed a sharp rise in executive optimism,with 72% of the 200 finance chiefs surveyedexpecting the economy to improve in a year, up from just 19% in the prior quarter. A related article Deloitte published on Jan. 15 noted that executives' more optimistic outlook may have stemmed from expectations of moreFederal Reserve rate cuts, optimism following the U.S. election, and a Republican-controlled congressional majority favoring the extension of expiring provisions of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act that many businesses want to keep.

In Depth

Deloitte's decision to shelve the survey results comes as a growing number of reports show that the Trump administration's sweeping tariff policies have upended the economic outlook.

Last week, Moody's became one of the latest institutions to downgrade its economic forecast, with its chief economist Mark Zandi saying the administration has pushed the U.S. economy to the"brink of recession", putting the probability of a recession at 60%, CFO Dive previously reported.

During the current earnings season, many CFOs, while trying to formulate plans in response to President Trump's rapidly changing tariff announcements, have cautiously emphasized the uncertainty surrounding their forecasts.

Tim Arndt, CFO of industrial real estate giant Prologis, said on last week's earnings call that the tariff actions "clearly go beyond our earlier assumptions,making the environment more uncertain." He also said that even if some tariffs are paused or resolved, "customerslack a stable backdrop to plantheir businesses," CFO Dive previously reported.

Meanwhile, CEOs of many major U.S. companies—including American Airlines, PepsiCo, and Procter & Gamble—have warned that"shifting tariff threats"make planning nearly impossible and are "scaring off customers," The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday.

Although Lockheed Martin's new CFO Evan Scott acknowledged on Tuesday's earnings call that the defense industry is less affected by tariffs, the company onlyreaffirmed its 2025 financial outlook, warning that the outlook does not include tariff impacts. At the end of the call, CEO Jim Taiclet cautiously acknowledged the changes in the broader environment while trying to strike a positive tone, choosing to describe the business environment with the word "dynamic."

"So, in closing, based on our massive backlog and the best-value strategies discussed today, this company is really well positioned in a very dynamic environment," Taiclet said before wrapping up. "We can all acknowledge we're in a dynamic environment, but we continue to innovate and deliver these advanced, reliable technologies while executing our long-term strategy, and we do hardware and upgrade it."