A new survey from Grant Thornton in the U.S. shows chief financial officers (CFOs) are more optimistic than ever about profit growth, with AI investments delivering returns despite continued caution about the broader economy.
Grant Thornton’s Q3/26 CFO Survey found that 46% of finance leaders said they are optimistic about the U.S. economy, yet 80% said they expect their organization’s net profits to grow over the next 12 months — an all-time high over the 18 quarters the question has been asked.
“Business leaders are very confident that they’re going to hit their net profit forecasts, and part of that is backed up by the fact that they’re seeing the productivity gains that they expected from AI,” Paul Melville, chief growth officer for Grant Thornton Advisors, said.
More than one-third (35%) of the nearly 230 U.S. finance leaders surveyed predict net profit growth to exceed 10%, topping the previous survey high of 30% recorded in the fourth quarter of 2024.
Confidence in AI is helping fuel that optimism. Almost two-thirds (65%) of finance leaders rated the performance and quality of AI technology as good or excellent, while just 2% rated it as poor or very poor. The next challenge is effective implementation, as organizations seek to translate AI’s capabilities into business outcomes.
AI is Delivering Results, But the Biggest Opportunities Lie Ahead
Eighty-four percent of finance leaders said AI return on investment is meeting or exceeding expectations. While much of the value has come from productivity gains, organizations are also using AI to transform workflows across the business.
“CFOs are using a broader lens of what value is, so they’re seeing those returns,” Sumeet Mahajan, a partner in the AI, data and tech practice for Grant Thornton Advisors, said. “Some companies are also deploying transformative workflow-level use cases and realizing the benefits. The momentum is exciting and encouraging.”
Despite concerns that AI could drive workforce reductions, the survey found little indication of near-term layoffs. Just 24% of finance leaders said their organization has the potential for layoffs in the next six months, the lowest level recorded since the question was introduced in Q2/22.
At the same time, just one-third (33%) of finance leaders reported enhanced revenue as an AI benefit, indicating that while AI-driven productivity gains are becoming more common, revenue transformation remains an emerging opportunity.
What’s more, finance and accounting (39%) was identified as the top function for AI-driven transformation, followed by customer service (36%) and cybersecurity (30%). By comparison, only 6% of finance leaders selected supply chain as a top-three area for AI transformation.
“Business leaders should stay focused on adopting AI in the functions where it can have the greatest impact,” Mahajan said. “Organizations are seeing the strongest results when AI is embedded into core processes and operations that support broader business objectives rather than applied in isolated use cases.”
Execution, Not Technology, is Becoming the Primary Challenge
As AI technology matures, pressure to transform using that technology is intensifying, particularly around AI. In fact, finance leaders reported high or very high pressure for AI transformation from competitors (46%), boards (41%), investors (36%) and customers (34%).
At the same time, execution is emerging as one of the greatest barriers to transformation. While 84% of finance leaders said their organizational transformation progress is meeting or exceeding expectations, they cited competing business priorities (43%) and budget constraints (43%) as their top obstacles. One-third (33%) of finance leaders also said more disciplined prioritization would improve their ability to transform.
“The best organizations might put 15 objectives on a roadmap, but they need to identify three to five core enterprise priorities that they absolutely must get right,” Jennifer Morelli, a partner in the transformation practice for Grant Thornton Advisors, said. “That level of focus helps organizations make meaningful progress despite competing priorities and resource constraints.”
To keep pace, organizations need dedicated leadership, clear accountability and sustained focus on the business outcomes transformation is intended to achieve.
The survey also highlighted technology and workforce challenges that can limit transformation outcomes. Finance leaders identified better technology infrastructure (40%) as the top action needed to improve their organization’s ability to transform, followed by better data and analytics (35%).
“You need to redesign the work,” Morelli said. “Companies spend time redesigning systems, but they don’t spend time redesigning how people should do their job. That’s a big opportunity to drive lasting value.”
Growth Optimism Persists Despite Tax & Trade Uncertainty
The Q3/26 CFO Survey also revealed that finance leaders are balancing the benefits of recent tax legislation against the challenges created by tariffs and shifting trade policies. While 44% said the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) has benefited their organization, 21% said it caused harm. What’s more, 60% reported tariffs and trade policy shifts have negatively affected their organization, compared with 26% who benefited.
“It’s clearly a mixed bag, with counterbalancing weights,” David Sites, national managing partner of the Washington National tax office and international tax solutions for Grant Thornton Advisors, said. “When you look at it on balance, OBBBA gave to businesses, and tariffs took away from businesses.”
Sites also noted that many organizations have yet to fully capitalize on the tax law’s provisions, including changes that expanded benefits for exporters and created additional opportunities for tax savings. Realizing those benefits, he said, requires careful analysis and execution.
“You have to do your homework, and you have to be good at implementation to take advantage of all the benefits of the OBBBA,” Sites said.
Despite ongoing tax and trade uncertainty, strong customer demand continues to support finance leaders’ outlook. In fact, 61% noted a positive view of customer demand, compared with 15% who hold a negative view.
“The American consumer remains fairly strong,” Sites concluded. “Demand looks good, and the survey results indicate optimism about future profits and the ability to maintain growth. In a way, that all comes back to the American consumer.”
