CEOs Expect Increased Sales and Capital Spending During Next Six Months

WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The results of Business Roundtable’s (BRT) first quarter 2013 CEO Economic Outlook Survey show CEOs’ expectations for the economy over the next six months have improved due to expected higher sales and capital spending, but that expectations for hiring remain flat.

“The relatively smaller improvement in the outlook for hiring, however, may reflect ongoing uncertainty and a wait-and-see attitude about the business climate in the United States, as agreement on the nation’s debt and budgetary issues remains elusive.”

CEO economic expectations increased for the first time in four quarters. BRT CEOs also expect 2.1 percent growth for 2013, a slight increase from last quarter’s estimate of 2.0 percent.

“CEOs foresee somewhat better economic performance for the next six months, with improved expectations for sales and capital expenditures,” said Jim McNerney, Chairman of Business Roundtable and Chairman, President and CEO of The Boeing Company. “The relatively smaller improvement in the outlook for hiring, however, may reflect ongoing uncertainty and a wait-and-see attitude about the business climate in the United States, as agreement on the nation’s debt and budgetary issues remains elusive.”

The CEO survey is now in its 11th year.

Survey Results

The survey’s key findings from this quarter and the fourth quarter of 2012 include:

	2012 Q4			2013 Q1			Quarterly % Change Increase
	Increase	No Change	Decrease	Increase	No Change	Decrease	Quarterly % Change Increase
How do you expect your company’s sales to change in the next six months?	58%	24%	17%	72%	22%	6%	14%
How do you expect your company’s U.S. capital spending to change in the next six months?	30%	48%	23%	38%	48%	15%	8%
How do you expect your company’s U.S. employment to change in the next six months?	29%	42%	29%	29%	47%	25%	0%

First Quarter 2013 CEO Economic Outlook Survey Index

The Business Roundtable CEO Economic Outlook Survey Index – a composite index of CEO expectations for the next six months of sales, capital spending and employment – increased significantly in the first quarter of 2013 to 81.0 from 65.6 in the fourth quarter of last year. The Index signals expected continued economic expansion and is at its highest level since the second quarter of 2012. The current Index is at about its long-term average level of 79.2.

Business Roundtable’s CEO Economic Outlook Survey, conducted quarterly since the third quarter of 2002, provides a forward-looking view of the economy by BRT member CEOs.

The survey was completed between February 11 and March 1, 2013. Responses were received from 144 member CEOs, 69 percent of the total Business Roundtable membership. The percentages in some categories may not equal 100 due to rounding. Results of this and all previous surveys can be found at http://businessroundtable.org/news-center/ceos-expect-increased-sales-and-capital-spending-during-next-six-month/.

Business Roundtable (BRT) is an association of chief executive officers of leading U.S. companies with more than $7.3 trillion in annual revenues and nearly 16 million employees. BRT member companies comprise nearly a third of the total value of the U.S. stock market and invest more than $150 billion annually in research and development – equal to 61 percent of U.S. private R&D spending. Our companies pay $182 billion in dividends to shareholders and generate nearly $500 billion in sales for small and medium-sized businesses annually.

BRT companies give more than $9 billion a year in combined charitable contributions.

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