{"success":true,"data":{"pressRelease":{"id":"155606","rtpr_id":"nBw4N8MZpa-20260929","ticker":"USB","exchange":"NYSE","all_tickers":["USB"],"title":"U.S. Bank CFO Survey: Optimism Climbing as Growth and Dealmaking Gain Momentum","author":"Business Wire","published_at":"2026-09-29T13:57:00.065Z","article_body":"U.S. Bank CFO Survey: Optimism Climbing as Growth and Dealmaking Gain Momentum\n\nResearch captures finance leader insights on economic sentiment, M&A\nappetite, AI spending, and inflation\n\nKey Takeaways:\n\n\n * Finance leaders are more optimistic about both the U.S. economy and their own\nbusinesses. The three-year outlook for the economy rose to 68% from 58% in the\nspring, while 71% are positive about their company’s three-year financial\nprospects, up from 64%.\n\n * Finance priorities are shifting toward growth. Revenue growth now nearly\nmatches cost-cutting as a top priority while exploring M&A opportunities\nis also a top-three priority.\n\n * Economy-wide AI investment is creating opportunity: 69% say it is creating\nmeaningful commercial opportunity for their business, while 51% say their own\nspending on AI tools exceeded budget over the past year. \n\nU.S. corporate finance leaders are growing more optimistic, even as many of\nthe risks they faced earlier this year remain in place, according to the\nlatest U.S. Bank CFO Insights Report\n(https://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.usbank.com%2Fcorporate-and-commercial-banking%2Fcfo-insights.html&esheet=54612215&newsitemid=20260929120677&lan=en-US&anchor=U.S.+Bank+CFO+Insights+Report&index=1&md5=33cda5cc8a9b6709ed7faba9a6e9fd4c)\n.\n\nThat optimism is reflected in both sentiment and priorities. Today, 68%\nreported a positive three-year outlook on the U.S. economy, up from 58% in the\nspring. Revenue growth now ranks nearly equal to cost-cutting among top\npriorities, while exploring M&A opportunities has climbed from the\nfifth-ranked priority earlier this year into the top three.\n\n\"Since our spring CFO survey, we've seen a shift in how finance leaders view\nthe current environment. The underlying risks remain largely the same, but\noptimism has improved and priorities are adjusting. Finance leaders remain\nfocused on cutting costs, yet they're also placing greater emphasis on revenue\ngrowth and pursuing M&A opportunities,\" said Stephen Philipson, U.S. Bank\nVice Chair and Head of Wealth, Corporate, Commercial and Institutional\nBanking. \"Taken together, the findings as well as our client conversations\nsuggest companies are increasingly willing to act rather than allowing\nuncertainty to delay important strategic decisions.\"\n\nThe findings are based on a survey conducted in August 2026 of 1,000 senior\nfinance leaders at U.S. businesses.\n\nGrowth gains ground\n\nCutting costs remains the top finance priority at 37%, but revenue growth has\nnearly caught up at 35%. That shift is not evenly distributed among\nindustries. For example, technology finance leaders, as well as those in\nconsumer and retail place a higher priority on growth over cost cutting, while\nmanufacturing and utilities remain firmly cost-focused: manufacturing finance\nleaders cite cost-cutting as a top priority nearly twice as often as revenue\ngrowth (60% vs. 34%).\n\nDealmaking has momentum\n\nManufacturing stands out as one of the most compelling M&A stories: 78% of\nmanufacturing finance leaders expect industry M&A activity to rise, the\nsecond highest of any sector measured, well above the 59% national figure, and\n66% say their firm specifically is more likely to acquire, compared with 57%\nnationally.\n\nFinance leaders remain more positive about their businesses than the economy\n\nIn addition to stronger long-term confidence, the shorter-term outlook on the\nU.S. economy has improved as well, with 41% reporting a positive 12-month\noutlook on the U.S. economy, up from 36% earlier this year. Further, finance\nleaders remain more confident in their own businesses than in the broader\neconomy. Some 71% report a positive three-year outlook for their company's\nfinancial prospects, up from 64% in the spring. Half report a positive\n12-month outlook, up from 45%. The gap is widest in oil and gas, where just\n30% are positive about the economy compared with 60% about their own business.\n\nOther key survey findings\n\n\n * Geopolitics, high borrowing costs and inflation remain the top risks:\nGeopolitical tension and war remains the top-cited risk (38%), followed by\nhigh borrowing costs (35%) and high inflation (34%). But 71% of finance\nleaders say geopolitical uncertainty and volatility represent an opportunity\nas well as a risk, up from 61% at the start of the year.\n\n\n * Improving productivity, not layoffs, is the preferred response to inflation:\n72% of finance leaders are investing in productivity through AI and automation\nto manage inflationary pressure. Reducing headcount ranks last among nine\nmeasured responses, at 28%.\n\n\n * Economy-wide AI investments creating commercial opportunities, but costs\nremain a challenge: 69% say AI investment across the economy is creating\nmeaningful commercial opportunity for their business, but 51% say their own\ncosts on AI tools at their business have exceeded budget over the past year.\n\n\n * Agentic AI moves into finance operations: Cash forecasting/liquidity\nmanagement and fraud prevention/cybersecurity lead current use cases. Adoption\nof agentic AI for cash forecasting ranges from 23% at companies with annual\nrevenue between $100 million and $249.99 million to 74% at companies with\nrevenue above $5 billion.\n\n\n * Many companies remain underhedged on commodity risks: 54% say their business\nis underhedged on commodity price risks.\n\nView the full U.S. Bank CFO Insights Report: Fall 2026\n(https://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.usbank.com%2Fcorporate-and-commercial-banking%2Fcfo-insights.html&esheet=54612215&newsitemid=20260929120677&lan=en-US&anchor=U.S.+Bank+CFO+Insights+Report%3A+Fall+2026&index=2&md5=a3fe4b11e3f9143e30040bdc25779eda)\n.\n\nAbout the research\n\nThe research findings in this report are based on a survey conducted between\nAugust 5 and 26, 2026, of 1,000 senior finance leaders who work in U.S.\nbusinesses across multiple sectors. Nearly half of the survey participants are\ncompany, regional, or divisional CFOs. The remainder are senior managers\nwithin the finance function. Every finance leader surveyed works for a\nbusiness that generates at least $100 million in annual revenue, and 30% work\nfor a business that generates at least $2 billion.\n\nAbout U.S. Bancorp\n\nHeadquartered in Minneapolis, U.S. Bancorp is the parent company of U.S. Bank\nNational Association, the fifth-largest commercial bank in the United States.\nOur three major business lines serve 15 million clients globally, and our team\nof nearly 70,000 people invest our hearts and minds to power human potential\nevery day. Ranked 110th on the Fortune 500, we are deeply respected for our\nculture and long-term stewardship and admired for our diversified business mix\nand product capabilities.\n\n\n\nView source version on businesswire.com:\nhttps://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260929120677/en/\n(https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260929120677/en/)\n\nTodd Deutsch, U.S. Bank Public Affairs and Communications\n\ntodd.deutsch@usbank.com (mailto:todd.deutsch@usbank.com)\n\n\nCopyright Business Wire 2026","article_body_html":"","raw_payload":{"data":{"id":"nBw4N8MZpa-20260929","title":"U.S. Bank CFO Survey: Optimism Climbing as Growth and Dealmaking Gain Momentum","author":"Business Wire","ticker":"USB","created":"2026-09-29T13:57:00.065Z","tickers":["USB"],"exchange":"NYSE","article_body":"U.S. Bank CFO Survey: Optimism Climbing as Growth and Dealmaking Gain Momentum\n\nResearch captures finance leader insights on economic sentiment, M&A\nappetite, AI spending, and inflation\n\nKey Takeaways:\n\n\n * Finance leaders are more optimistic about both the U.S. economy and their own\nbusinesses. The three-year outlook for the economy rose to 68% from 58% in the\nspring, while 71% are positive about their company’s three-year financial\nprospects, up from 64%.\n\n * Finance priorities are shifting toward growth. Revenue growth now nearly\nmatches cost-cutting as a top priority while exploring M&A opportunities\nis also a top-three priority.\n\n * Economy-wide AI investment is creating opportunity: 69% say it is creating\nmeaningful commercial opportunity for their business, while 51% say their own\nspending on AI tools exceeded budget over the past year. \n\nU.S. corporate finance leaders are growing more optimistic, even as many of\nthe risks they faced earlier this year remain in place, according to the\nlatest U.S. Bank CFO Insights Report\n(https://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.usbank.com%2Fcorporate-and-commercial-banking%2Fcfo-insights.html&esheet=54612215&newsitemid=20260929120677&lan=en-US&anchor=U.S.+Bank+CFO+Insights+Report&index=1&md5=33cda5cc8a9b6709ed7faba9a6e9fd4c)\n.\n\nThat optimism is reflected in both sentiment and priorities. Today, 68%\nreported a positive three-year outlook on the U.S. economy, up from 58% in the\nspring. Revenue growth now ranks nearly equal to cost-cutting among top\npriorities, while exploring M&A opportunities has climbed from the\nfifth-ranked priority earlier this year into the top three.\n\n\"Since our spring CFO survey, we've seen a shift in how finance leaders view\nthe current environment. The underlying risks remain largely the same, but\noptimism has improved and priorities are adjusting. Finance leaders remain\nfocused on cutting costs, yet they're also placing greater emphasis on revenue\ngrowth and pursuing M&A opportunities,\" said Stephen Philipson, U.S. Bank\nVice Chair and Head of Wealth, Corporate, Commercial and Institutional\nBanking. \"Taken together, the findings as well as our client conversations\nsuggest companies are increasingly willing to act rather than allowing\nuncertainty to delay important strategic decisions.\"\n\nThe findings are based on a survey conducted in August 2026 of 1,000 senior\nfinance leaders at U.S. businesses.\n\nGrowth gains ground\n\nCutting costs remains the top finance priority at 37%, but revenue growth has\nnearly caught up at 35%. That shift is not evenly distributed among\nindustries. For example, technology finance leaders, as well as those in\nconsumer and retail place a higher priority on growth over cost cutting, while\nmanufacturing and utilities remain firmly cost-focused: manufacturing finance\nleaders cite cost-cutting as a top priority nearly twice as often as revenue\ngrowth (60% vs. 34%).\n\nDealmaking has momentum\n\nManufacturing stands out as one of the most compelling M&A stories: 78% of\nmanufacturing finance leaders expect industry M&A activity to rise, the\nsecond highest of any sector measured, well above the 59% national figure, and\n66% say their firm specifically is more likely to acquire, compared with 57%\nnationally.\n\nFinance leaders remain more positive about their businesses than the economy\n\nIn addition to stronger long-term confidence, the shorter-term outlook on the\nU.S. economy has improved as well, with 41% reporting a positive 12-month\noutlook on the U.S. economy, up from 36% earlier this year. Further, finance\nleaders remain more confident in their own businesses than in the broader\neconomy. Some 71% report a positive three-year outlook for their company's\nfinancial prospects, up from 64% in the spring. Half report a positive\n12-month outlook, up from 45%. The gap is widest in oil and gas, where just\n30% are positive about the economy compared with 60% about their own business.\n\nOther key survey findings\n\n\n * Geopolitics, high borrowing costs and inflation remain the top risks:\nGeopolitical tension and war remains the top-cited risk (38%), followed by\nhigh borrowing costs (35%) and high inflation (34%). But 71% of finance\nleaders say geopolitical uncertainty and volatility represent an opportunity\nas well as a risk, up from 61% at the start of the year.\n\n\n * Improving productivity, not layoffs, is the preferred response to inflation:\n72% of finance leaders are investing in productivity through AI and automation\nto manage inflationary pressure. Reducing headcount ranks last among nine\nmeasured responses, at 28%.\n\n\n * Economy-wide AI investments creating commercial opportunities, but costs\nremain a challenge: 69% say AI investment across the economy is creating\nmeaningful commercial opportunity for their business, but 51% say their own\ncosts on AI tools at their business have exceeded budget over the past year.\n\n\n * Agentic AI moves into finance operations: Cash forecasting/liquidity\nmanagement and fraud prevention/cybersecurity lead current use cases. Adoption\nof agentic AI for cash forecasting ranges from 23% at companies with annual\nrevenue between $100 million and $249.99 million to 74% at companies with\nrevenue above $5 billion.\n\n\n * Many companies remain underhedged on commodity risks: 54% say their business\nis underhedged on commodity price risks.\n\nView the full U.S. Bank CFO Insights Report: Fall 2026\n(https://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.usbank.com%2Fcorporate-and-commercial-banking%2Fcfo-insights.html&esheet=54612215&newsitemid=20260929120677&lan=en-US&anchor=U.S.+Bank+CFO+Insights+Report%3A+Fall+2026&index=2&md5=a3fe4b11e3f9143e30040bdc25779eda)\n.\n\nAbout the research\n\nThe research findings in this report are based on a survey conducted between\nAugust 5 and 26, 2026, of 1,000 senior finance leaders who work in U.S.\nbusinesses across multiple sectors. Nearly half of the survey participants are\ncompany, regional, or divisional CFOs. The remainder are senior managers\nwithin the finance function. Every finance leader surveyed works for a\nbusiness that generates at least $100 million in annual revenue, and 30% work\nfor a business that generates at least $2 billion.\n\nAbout U.S. Bancorp\n\nHeadquartered in Minneapolis, U.S. Bancorp is the parent company of U.S. Bank\nNational Association, the fifth-largest commercial bank in the United States.\nOur three major business lines serve 15 million clients globally, and our team\nof nearly 70,000 people invest our hearts and minds to power human potential\nevery day. Ranked 110th on the Fortune 500, we are deeply respected for our\nculture and long-term stewardship and admired for our diversified business mix\nand product capabilities.\n\n\n\nView source version on businesswire.com:\nhttps://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260929120677/en/\n(https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260929120677/en/)\n\nTodd Deutsch, U.S. Bank Public Affairs and Communications\n\ntodd.deutsch@usbank.com (mailto:todd.deutsch@usbank.com)\n\n\nCopyright Business Wire 2026"},"type":"article","timestamp":"2026-09-29T13:57:00.128436959Z","server_sent_at_ms":1790690220128},"received_at":"2026-09-29T13:57:00.197Z","source_url":"https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260929120677/en/"},"analysis":{"id":"144330","press_release_id":"155606","analysis_json":{"industry":{"label":"Banks","sector":"Financials"},"redFlags":[],"eventType":"other","narrative":"U.S. Bank published its fall 2026 CFO Insights Report based on an August survey of 1,000 senior finance leaders, showing rising optimism: 68% hold a positive three-year U.S. economy outlook, up from 58% in the spring.\n\nRevenue growth has nearly caught cost-cutting as the top finance priority (35% vs. 37%), and M&A appetite climbed into the top-three priorities, with 59% nationally expecting industry deal activity to rise.\n\nThe report is U.S. Bank's own thought-leadership research supporting its institutional banking franchise; it contains no new financial disclosures about USB itself.","sentiment":"neutral","agentHooks":{"shouldPost":false,"suggestedAngle":"Proprietary USB survey signals improving corporate sentiment and M&A appetite -- soft macro color, not a filer event."},"keyFigures":{"customDimensions":{"ai_budget_overrun":"51%","survey_respondents":1000,"ai_commercial_opportunity":"69%","mna_activity_rise_national":"59%","company_3yr_outlook_positive":"71%","economy_3yr_outlook_positive":"68%"}},"quotedText":"the findings as well as our client conversations suggest companies are increasingly willing to act rather than allowing uncertainty to delay important strategic decisions","namedEntities":{"people":[{"name":"Stephen Philipson","role":"U.S. Bank Vice Chair and Head of Wealth, Corporate, Commercial and Institutional Banking"},{"name":"Todd Deutsch","role":"U.S. Bank Public Affairs and Communications"}],"products":["U.S. Bank CFO Insights Report"],"companies":[{"name":"U.S. Bancorp","ticker":"USB","relationship":"filer/issuer"},{"name":"U.S. Bank National Association","relationship":"subsidiary"}],"dollarAmounts":[]},"materialImpact":{"score":1,"reasoning":"This is U.S. Bank's own proprietary research publication (CFO Insights survey), not a financial disclosure, guidance change, or corporate event. It is brand/thought-leadership content with no direct earnings or balance-sheet impact on USB."},"tickerRelevance":{"others":[],"primary":"USB"},"globalImportance":12,"audienceRelevance":15,"eventTypeSecondary":[],"importanceComponents":{"tickerTier":"large-cap","eventGravity":"proprietary-research-publication","issuerAuthored":true,"householdBrandBoost":true}},"event_type":"other","event_type_secondary":null,"sentiment":"neutral","material_impact_score":1,"narrative":"U.S. Bank published its fall 2026 CFO Insights Report based on an August survey of 1,000 senior finance leaders, showing rising optimism: 68% hold a positive three-year U.S. economy outlook, up from 58% in the spring.\n\nRevenue growth has nearly caught cost-cutting as the top finance priority (35% vs. 37%), and M&A appetite climbed into the top-three priorities, with 59% nationally expecting industry deal activity to rise.\n\nThe report is U.S. Bank's own thought-leadership research supporting its institutional banking franchise; it contains no new financial disclosures about USB itself.","key_figures":{"customDimensions":{"ai_budget_overrun":"51%","survey_respondents":1000,"ai_commercial_opportunity":"69%","mna_activity_rise_national":"59%","company_3yr_outlook_positive":"71%","economy_3yr_outlook_positive":"68%"}},"named_entities":{"people":[{"name":"Stephen Philipson","role":"U.S. Bank Vice Chair and Head of Wealth, Corporate, Commercial and Institutional Banking"},{"name":"Todd Deutsch","role":"U.S. Bank Public Affairs and Communications"}],"products":["U.S. Bank CFO Insights Report"],"companies":[{"name":"U.S. Bancorp","ticker":"USB","relationship":"filer/issuer"},{"name":"U.S. Bank National Association","relationship":"subsidiary"}],"dollarAmounts":[]},"model_name":"glm-5.3-flashx","prompt_hash":"sha256:727b4b9429a443af","schema_hash":"sha256:05005c02d9cffac9","created_at":"2026-09-29T13:57:05.854Z","global_importance":12,"audience_relevance":15,"importance_components":{"tickerTier":"large-cap","eventGravity":"proprietary-research-publication","issuerAuthored":true,"householdBrandBoost":true}},"durationMs":5644,"modelName":"glm-5.3-flashx"}}