Confidence among Irish chief executives has fallen to a five-year low as geopolitical tensions and the struggle to convert artificial intelligence investment into growth weigh on sentiment, according to PwC’s annual Global CEO Survey unveiled at the World Economic Forum in Davos.
Just over a quarter of Irish CEOs say they are confident about their own revenue growth in 2026, with optimism more than halving since 2022. Globally, 30% of CEOs expect annual growth, the survey shows.
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Despite muted confidence at the company level, Irish leaders remain relatively upbeat about the broader economy: 63% believe the Irish economy will improve over the next 12 months, down from 74% last year. Worldwide, 61% of CEOs expect the global economy to pick up, up from 58% in 2025.
“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,” PwC said.
The survey highlights a widening gap between AI leaders and laggards. Just 17% of Irish CEOs report increased revenues from AI over the past year, compared with 29% globally. PwC said companies that have scaled AI with strong foundations “are pulling ahead,” adding that CEOs reporting both cost and revenue gains are two to three times more likely to have embedded AI extensively across their businesses.
Adoption remains modest in Ireland. Only 8% of Irish CEOs say AI is applied across a range of business areas—such as demand generation, products and services, and strategic decision-making—versus 18% of CEOs globally. More than half of Irish leaders (51%) cite their top concern as whether they are transforming quickly enough to keep pace with technological change, including AI, compared with 42% globally.
Talent is a key bottleneck. Just 19% of Irish CEOs say their organisations can attract high-quality AI talent, sharply below the global figure of 42%.
“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,” said Mohamed Kande, PwC Global Chairman.
External risks continue to cloud the outlook. Some 27% of Irish CEOs say their organisations are extremely or highly exposed to macroeconomic volatility, near the 31% global figure. Perceived exposure to geopolitical conflict rose to 21% from 13% last year.
Tariffs remain a comparatively limited threat for Irish firms: 7% of Irish CEOs say they are highly or extremely exposed to significant financial loss from tariffs, versus 20% globally. Even so, nearly a quarter (23%) of Irish respondents expect tariffs to erode net profits in the next 12 months. PwC noted the survey was conducted before the latest tariff threat on European countries by U.S. President Donald Trump.
On investment destinations, the United States remains the most attractive market globally, with CEO interest in India doubling year-on-year. For Irish businesses, the United Kingdom is the top target, followed by the United States and Germany.
The findings are based on responses from 4,454 CEOs across 95 countries and territories, collected between Sept. 30 and Nov. 10, 2025, including 57 CEOs in Ireland.
By Abdiwahab Ahmed
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
