Europe's CFOs haven't felt this pessimistic in years

Even before this summer’s rash of heatwaves, European finance chiefs were in a sweat.

According to Deloitte’s spring European CFO survey, nearly half (48%) of respondents said they felt worse about their organizations’ financial prospects than they did three months earlier, which is nearly double the 25% of respondents who said so in Deloitte’s fall survey.

European finance executives haven’t felt that pessimistic since the 2022 energy crisis and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Deloitte’s report on the March–April 2026 survey said.

Waning optimism isn’t too surprising, Deloitte experts noted, due to an energy crisis stemming from ongoing Middle East conflict. The European Commission noted in its spring economic forecast that it expected “weaker economic activity, as the conflict in the Middle East triggers a new energy shock that reignites inflation and shakes economic sentiment.”

Geopolitical risk was a leading concern for the 1,100+ CFOs across 12 countries that Deloitte surveyed. The top geopolitical risks included “energy shocks, Middle East conflict escalation, and critical material disruption—closely correlated risks signaling that CFOs expect compound, systemic shocks rather than isolated events,” according to the report.

Oil supply problems will persist, according to the International Energy Agency. The Paris-based IEA said on Wednesday that “renewed hostilities and maritime disruptions” around in the Gulf in July and August have undermined market recovery and led to a reduction in its Q3 global oil supply forecast.

From Belgium. The year so far has been “a roller coaster of price volatility, geopolitical uncertainty, and AI spending,” Aidana Zhakupbekova, COFO of Belgium-based expense-management platform Rydoo, told CFO Brew. In response, European finance leaders have “turn[ed] their attention to analysis and planning to reduce risk, alongside cost reduction,” Zhakupbekova said in an email.

Based on the survey findings, Deloitte offered three observations, or “imperatives,” for European CFOs. First, organizations should look beyond cost cutting and “redesign for resilience” through automation, digital transformation, and diversifying their supply chains.

Second, high-performing companies tend to focus on “opportunities in existing markets” while waiting for margins to recover before making a more aggressive expansion. And third, companies that continue making strategic investments now—think productivity, capability building, and technology—will benefit in the future.