Survey results: Expectations for company performance, by industry

| Survey

September 2023

In the latest McKinsey Global Survey on economic conditions,1 private-sector respondents express optimism about companies’ prospects in the months ahead. The share expecting their companies’ profits to increase in the next six months is the highest in two years, and most respondents continue to expect customer demand to grow as well. These rosy views come as 60 percent report price increases in the past six months, up from 53 percent in the June survey. Respondents in advanced industries such as automotive and aerospace are the most likely to say their companies recently increased prices—and are the most hopeful about the months ahead. Respondents working in energy and materials, on the other hand, offer a more somber outlook now than they did in the previous survey.


The survey content and analysis were developed by Jeffrey Condon, a senior knowledge expert in McKinsey’s Atlanta office; Krzysztof Kwiatkowski, a capabilities and insights expert at the Waltham Client Capabilities Hub; and Sven Smit, chair of insights and ecosystems, chair of the McKinsey Global Institute, and a senior partner in the Amsterdam office.


This update was edited by Heather Hanselman, an editor in the Atlanta office.




June 2023

Private-sector respondents report consistently positive views about their companies’ profit, demand, and workforce prospects.

In last month’s McKinsey Global Survey on the economy, respondents report steadily rosier views on conditions in their own countries and in the world economy. Yet at the company level, the results suggest a tendency toward the status quo. While private-sector respondents remain more positive than not about their companies’ near-term prospects, they are more likely than they were in March to believe profits and demand for their offerings will hold steady. Meanwhile, their workforce expectations are nearly identical to what we saw last quarter.


This update was edited by Daniella Seiler, an executive editor in the Washington, DC, office.




March 2023

Respondents’ enthusiasm for their companies’ prospects rose, and then came back to earth, in our latest surveys.

In last month’s McKinsey Global Surveys on economic conditions, we compared executives’ sentiment before and after the upheaval in the banking sector that began with the closure of Silicon Valley Bank.2 Respondents to our initial survey reported increasing optimism about the broader economy’s performance as well as their own companies’ performance. Three weeks later, their views tempered—although when it comes to profit expectations, they have been more upbeat throughout March than in the previous three quarters.


This update was edited by Daniella Seiler, an executive editor in the New York office.




December 2022

Compared with last quarter, respondents share more optimistic views for their companies’ future profits. However, expectations overall for company performance are more muted than at the start of 2022.

In the latest McKinsey Global Survey on economic conditions, expectations for the respondents’ domestic economies are more pessimistic now than at the start of 2022. The same holds true for company performance, though respondents’ expectations for their companies’ profits are more upbeat now than in September. For the first time this year, weak customer demand tops the list of cited risks to company growth over the next year, overtaking supply chain disruptions—the most-cited threat in the previous two quarters.


This update was edited by Heather Hanselman, an editor in the Atlanta office.




September 2022

Across industries, only respondents working in energy and materials and financial services report more upbeat expectations for their companies’ profits or demand for their goods or services than in the previous survey.

In the latest McKinsey Global Survey on economic conditions, respondents’ expectations for their companies’ performance are more somber than they have been since early in the COVID-19 pandemic. This pessimism comes as companies feel the impact of cost increases. Nine in ten respondents report cost increases in the past six months—particularly the effects of rising energy prices and material costs. Yet respondents in sectors such as energy and materials and financial services report brighter spots compared with the June 2022 survey.

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