- A new survey by the Conference Board found over 60% of CEOs anticipate a recession coming in the next 12 to 18 months.
- Plus, 15% of CEOs said their region is already in a recession.
- The execs pointed to high inflation, reeling energy markets, and geopolitical concerns.
A majority of global CEOs expect a recession will arrive by the end of next year, according to a new survey released Friday.
More than 60% of execs anticipate a recession in their geographic region in the next 12 to 18 months, the Conference Board said. That's up from a late-2021 Conference Board survey that found 22% of CEOs reported seeing recession risk.
The latest survey, which was based on data collected in May before the Fed's rate hike on Wednesday, reflects the bleak outlook business leaders have for the foreseeable future. In fact, 15% of CEOs reported that their region is already in a recession.
In addition to recession fears, many pointed to inflation, reeling energy markets, and geopolitical conflicts as looming economic threats.
"CEOs and other C-suite executives see the war fueling inflation through energy price volatility and higher costs for scarce inputs. This is leading to concerns over margin compression," the survey authors wrote.
Additionally, Russia's ongoing war on Ukraine continues to pose risks to supply chains and global fuel supplies that could be exacerbated by China's eventual emergence from COVID-19 lockdowns.
Some top CEOs have publicly sounded the alarm about the economy recently. Most notably, JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon warned earlier this month of a coming economic "hurricane."
Meanwhile, companies across sectors have slowed down hiring in recent weeks. Facebook-parent Meta won't be adding staffers at the same rate as previous years, while the real estate and cryptocurrency sectors have hit the brakes on hiring or announced layoffs, given the downturn in housing and crypto markets.
Earlier this week, "Bond King" Jeff Gundlach said a recession is highly probable for the US economy, and expressed doubts that the Fed will be able to pull off a soft landing amid soaring inflation.