CEOs around the world are becoming more confident in future growth, despite increasingly complex geopolitical and macroeconomic challenges, according to the latest EY-Parthenon CEO Outlook Survey.

The report, which evaluates the optimism levels of 1,200 global business leaders, found that rapid technological advancements, changing sustainability agendas, and geopolitical tensions – which 49% of CEO respondents believe will further escalate in 2025 – are making corporate decisions more complex.

However, despite those challenges the survey finds that overall CEO confidence has steadily increased, with more than half of respondents (57%) very confident they can successfully reimagine their business models for the future through transformation.

EY‘s survey also highlights that CEOS see strategic vision and investment in people, including upskilling employees to keep pace with technological innovation, are considered essential levers for growth, with 85% of CEOs reporting that addressing capability gaps and striking a balance between human talent and new tech will drive success in the year ahead. 

However, caution remains around the talent landscape, with 42% of respondents indicating that declining profitability could lead to workforce reductions.

The most confident CEOs are likely to aim for better employee and customer experiences through transformation (60% vs. 30% of the least confident CEOs), while the most uncertain CEOs focus on improving top-line growth and margin expansion (40% vs. 20%).  

“Organisations that embrace transformation can turn disruption into opportunity, continuously learning, pivoting and growing to shape their future with confidence,” said Janet Truncale, EY Global chair and CEO.

“The most confident CEOs are taking a long-term approach to transformation, focusing on enhancing customer and employee engagement amid macroeconomic and technological shifts, and always placing humans at the center as the best path to sustainable value creation.” 

In the short term, over half (56%) of global CEOs expect to actively pursue M&A activity in the next twelve months in a push for growth, with EY predicting a strong rebound for deal-making in 2025, continuing the upward trend of M&A activity recorded in 2024.

The overall appetite among CEOs for mergers and acquisitions in the next year has increased significantly, rising to 56% – the highest deal ambitions recorded for almost two years, and up from 37% in September 2024 – with  real estate, technology, and consumer products being the top three M&A destinations.

There are also indications that 2025 could see an uptick in megadeals, with 60% of CEOs expecting to see an increase in deals worth more than $10bn (£8.1bn). 

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Added to that, nearly half of the survey respondents reported looking to sell assets, with 48% planning a divestment or carve-out (up from 44% in September 2024), potentially adding even more momentum to the deal market in the year ahead.

“The rationale for M&A is strong. Digital transformation remains a critical driver of deal strategies, with artificial intelligence capabilities increasingly driving corporate acquisition strategies,” said Andrea Guerzoni, EY Global vice chair.

“CEOs across the globe are adapting to a new normal of complex change. By adopting a transformation mindset with M&A as a key catalyst, the most confident CEOs will mitigate disruption and drive sustainable growth in 2025.”