According to PwC’s 29th Global CEO Survey, Irish CEO confidence in their company’s revenue prospects for the year ahead has more than halved since 2022. Just over a quarter (26%) of Irish CEOs say that they are confident about prospects for revenue growth over the next 12 months—down from 43% in 2025 and 60% in 2022 (Global 2026: 30%; 2022:56%). The findings suggest that as CEOs navigate a complex operating environment shaped by rapid technological change, geopolitical uncertainty and economic pressure, many companies have yet to translate investment into consistent financial gains.
While economic optimism remains, confidence about Ireland’s future economic growth has fallen compared to last year: 63% of Irish CEOs believe that Ireland’s economy will improve in the year ahead, down from 74% last year. 61% of global CEOs say the global economy will improve compared to 58% in 2025.
The survey is based on responses from 4,454 CEOs across 95 countries and territories including Ireland.
AI emerges as a defining fault line for growth and profitability
The biggest question on CEOs’ minds is whether they are transforming fast enough to keep pace with technological change, including AI. Over half (51%) of Irish CEOs cite this as their top concern (Global: 42%) —and well ahead of worries about doing enough to ensure long-term viability (Ireland: 40%; Global: 29%) and innovation capability (Ireland: 32%; Global: 29%).
With widespread experimentation, 17% of Irish CEOs say that AI has delivered increased revenues in the past 12 months (Global: 29%). Nearly a quarter (23%) say that AI has delivered cost reductions in the past 12 months (Global: 26%). The survey points to a growing divide between companies piloting AI and those deploying it at scale. Global CEOs reporting both cost and revenue gains are two to three times more likely to say they have embedded AI extensively across their business.
However, fewer Irish CEOs (8%) report AI application across a range of business areas compared to global counterparts (18%) including demand generation, products/services/experiences and strategic direction setting. At the same time fewer Irish CEOs (19%) also report that their organisation is able to attract high quality AI talent compared to 42% globally.
Foundations matter as much as scale. Global CEOs whose organisations have established strong AI foundations—such as Responsible AI frameworks and technology environments that enable enterprise-wide integration—are three times more likely to report meaningful financial returns. Separate PwC global analysis shows that companies applying AI widely to products, services, and customer experiences achieved nearly four percentage points higher profit margins than those that did not.
2026 is shaping up as a decisive year for AI. A small group of companies are already turning AI into measurable financial returns, while many others are still struggling to move beyond pilots. That gap is starting to show up in confidence and competitiveness—and it will widen quickly for those that don’t act.
Rising external risks adding to pressures
The survey shows high exposure to key external risks. Over a quarter (27%) of Irish CEOs report that their organisation is extremely or highly exposed to macroeconomic volatility (Global: 31%). Rising exposures also include geopolitical conflict (21%, up from 13% last year) and technology disruption (21%, up from 20% last year).
Less than one in ten (7%) Irish CEOs say that their organisation is highly or extremely exposed to the risk of significant financial loss from tariffs, but is a greater threat (20%) for global CEOs. At the same time, nearly a quarter (23%) say that tariffs will reduce net profits in the next 12 months (Global: 29%).
With cyber attacks becoming ever more sophisticated, 82% of Irish CEOs say that they plan to strengthen enterprise-wide cybersecurity as part of their response to geopolitical risk (Global: 84%).
Nearly one-in-three (29%) Irish CEOs revealed that they would make fewer new large investments compared to last year due to geopolitical uncertainty (Global: 32%).
Reinvention becomes a strategic imperative
Despite the challenging outlook, CEOs increasingly see reinvention as essential to growth. Nearly half (47%) of Irish CEOs say that their company has begun competing in new sectors or industries over the past five years, up from 32% last year (Global 2026: 42%). One in seven (14%) say that they plan to invest in the technology sector (Global: 23%).
The challenge facing Irish CEOs is to decide how the company’s value creation recipe needs to change for the decade of technology innovation and industry reconfiguration ahead. The uncertainty that continues to surround global trade and geopolitics means Irish businesses cannot afford to focus narrowly on short-term activities. Reinvention and innovation must move to the top of the agenda as essential strategies for long-term viability and competitiveness.
Over two-thirds (68%) of Irish CEOs plan to make international investments in the year ahead (Global: 51%). The UK remains the top destination with 62% ranking it among their top three markets followed by the US (44%) and Germany (23%). Globally, the US remains the top destination (35%) followed by the UK and Germany at 13% and the Chinese Mainland (11%). International investment interest in India has nearly doubled year-on-year in Ireland (8%) and globally (13%) with CEOs placing it among their top three destinations.
Execution gaps remain. Even fewer Irish CEOS (9%) compared to global CEOs (24%) say that their organisation tolerates high risk in innovation projects, has disciplined processes to stop underperforming initiatives, or operates a defined innovation centre or corporate venturing function. Less than one in three (32%) consider innovation to be vital to their business strategy, far behind global counterparts (50%).
Time is also a constraint: Irish CEOs report spending over half (58%) of their time focused on issues with a horizon of less than one year (Global: 47%), compared with just 10% on decisions looking more than five years ahead (Global: 16%).
The survey shows that Irish companies are more cautious on their approach to innovation including testing new ideas with customers compared to global counterparts. Innovation is critical for future growth. In periods of rapid change, the instinct to slow down is understandable—but it’s also risky. The value at stake across the Irish and global economy is increasing, and the window to capture it is narrowing. The companies that succeed will be those willing to make bold decisions and invest with conviction in the capabilities that matter most to reinvent their business model.