Geopolitics hurt executive confidence in Brazil, worldwide

According to the survey, 38% of senior executives in Brazil and 30% globally are confident about their companies’ revenue growth prospects over the next 12 months. The figures represent a sharp decline compared with the survey released in early 2025, when confidence stood at 50% in Brazil and 38% worldwide. PwC surveyed more than 4,400 people in 95 countries between September 30 and November 10, 2025.

In Brazil, confidence peaked in 2022, when 63% were more optimistic about their businesses. Abroad, confidence reached 56% in the same period.

The main concern today is whether business transformation is happening at the pace required to keep up with advances in artificial intelligence.

CEOs continue to look for growth opportunities outside their traditional sectors. The data show that 51% of Brazilian CEOs (42% globally) have begun competing in new areas over the past five years. Among those planning major acquisitions over the next three years, nearly 50% in Brazil and worldwide expect to make moves outside their current segments.

In Brazil, 23% of leaders believe trade tariffs will reduce their companies’ net profit margins over the next 12 months, while 67% expect little or no change. Globally, nearly one-third (31%) of CEOs foresee margin declines, and 60% do not expect significant changes. Among those anticipating margin compression, most believe the decline will be only slight.

Two-thirds (66%) of global CEOs say concerns related to stakeholder trust have emerged in at least one area of their companies’ operations over the past 12 months. During this period, there is a significant difference in total shareholder returns between publicly traded companies that faced more of these concerns and those that faced fewer.

“There is the issue of geopolitical conflicts that are taking place, and also wars. There are also questions related to barriers that are being put in place. To give an idea, tariffs, for example, are a barrier that has not yet been overcome and continues to generate new challenges,” Marco Castro, president of PwC in Brazil, told Valor.

Castro sees greater movement among companies seeking to enter areas with more attractive profitability through business reinvention.

“If you don’t move, you will see a competitor entering your market. Today it is much harder to put up barriers to entry in your business, because with the use of technology you gain a very large possibility of starting to have multiple operations and multiple opportunities,” the executive said.

According to him, artificial intelligence has also become extremely relevant, gaining traction in business and playing a fundamental role in defining future winners. “This really began to take shape in 2025, and looking to 2026 we see two major movements: gaining mastery of AI and using the tool to change business processes. It is not an isolated term.”

The PwC survey was clear on this point when it asked respondents whether they are transforming their businesses at the pace needed to keep up with technological advances, including AI.

Data for Brazil show that more than a quarter of leaders make extensive use of technology in functions such as demand generation (28%), support services (28%), products and services (29%), strategic direction-setting (28%) and demand fulfillment (20%). Globally, adoption is somewhat less consistent: 22% in demand generation, 20% in support, 19% in products and services, 15% in strategic definition and 13% in demand fulfillment.

According to the survey, just over half of global CEOs (51%) plan to make international investments in 2026. Among them, the U.S. remains the top destination, with more than one-third (35%) placing the country among the three that are expected to receive the largest share of company investments. The United Kingdom and Germany (both at 13%) and China (10%) also remain among the preferred options.

Among the most notable changes, 13% of CEOs planning to invest abroad included India among their top three destinations, a significant jump from 7% the previous year. The United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia entered the top ten, ranking sixth and seventh, a sign of growing interest in the Middle East. Brazil, while attracting more interest (from 4% to 6%) from 2025 to 2026, remained in 13th place in the ranking.

Brazil, according to Castro, has previously been among the top ten investment destinations and even among the three most attractive in the recent past. “Three years ago, it dropped out of the top 10. We consider Brazil’s position as 13th as an investment destination. What is interesting is how this is being repositioned and diluted: despite being in 13th place, the number of those interested in investing in Brazil has nearly doubled,” he said.