American mid-sized businesses have cooled their optimism about the U.S. economy.
According to JPMorgan Chase A new survey released Wednesday found that only 39% of managers at mid-sized U.S. businesses are optimistic about the country’s economic outlook for 2026, a significant drop from 65% a year ago—when confidence in the U.S. economy had reached a five-year high.
JPMorgan Chase Commercial Bank Business director Melissa Smith described the outlook as “cautiously optimistic.” “I think people are feeling good about the fundamentals of the economy,” she said in an interview.
But she added, "The reason I say 'cautious' is because geopolitical uncertainty remains high, and I think that's affecting people's judgment."
However, respondents were relatively more confident when examining their own companies' situations. Among the more than 1,400 business leaders surveyed, 51% were optimistic about their industry's performance in 2026, down from 60% last year; 71% were confident about their own company's prospects in 2026, roughly the same as last year's 74%.
While expectations for sales, profits, and hiring have declined somewhat, the decline has not been significant.
Approximately 73% of respondents anticipate revenue growth by 2026, 64% expect profit increases, and 48% plan to expand their workforce. In comparison, these figures were 74%, 65%, and 51% respectively last year.
The sentiment of U.S. mid-sized businesses is often seen as an important economic "bellwether." JPMorgan Chase defines the "mid-market" as businesses with annual revenue between $20 million and $500 million. The bank says these businesses account for about one-third of revenue and employment in the U.S. private sector.
These companies are also US banks These are important and stable sources of clients for the private equity industry and the emerging private credit funds; at the same time, they are also the core channels for mergers and acquisitions and exits in the private equity industry, as well as an important source of business for M&A advisors.
Despite a weakening of overall economic confidence, the survey shows that respondents' belief in other growth strategies has generally strengthened. The proportion planning to include mergers and acquisitions in their companies' growth strategies for the next 12 months rose to 39% from 31% in the same period last year.
(Article source: CLS)
