Economic and geopolitical pressures: 82 percent of German CEOs change their growth strategy - focus on AI and acquisitions

• Growth prospects continue to deteriorate: Only 72 percent of German CEOs still expect their company to grow - less than in the previous year and in a global comparison
• Changing strategies: 82 percent of German companies have changed their growth strategy due to the coronavirus crisis, 58 percent consider major takeovers likely
• AI as a top investment: 68 percent of German CEOs name AI as their top investment goal, 80 percent plan to invest at least 10 percent of their budget in the short term
• Benefits of AI: 18 percent of CEOs see better decisions and data analysis as well as higher profitability as the greatest benefits of AI, while 30 percent see the identification of suitable AI talent as the greatest challenge
• Workforce in focus: 86 percent of CEOs want to create additional jobs

The mood in German boardrooms continues to deteriorate: Only 72 percent of CEOs in Germany still expect growth for their company in the next three years - a low compared to 77 percent in 2024, 80 percent in 2023 and even 90 percent in 2022. International executives are more optimistic: 79 percent of them expect their companies to grow in the same period. Above all, the ongoing economic and geopolitical uncertainty is forcing many companies to realign their growth strategies: More than half of German CEOs see major takeovers as a likely step and are focusing on artificial intelligence for greater efficiency and profitability. This is shown by the KPMG CEO Outlook 2025, for which 1,350 business leaders worldwide were surveyed, including 125 CEOs from Germany.

Confidence among German CEOs is declining across all the growth expectations surveyed: for the first time in years, the study recorded a decline in global economy, own industry, own country and own company. Only 64 percent of respondents still expect the global economy to grow in the medium term, while the figure for their own industry has fallen to 71 percent. With regard to Germany, only 75 percent of CEOs still expect the domestic economy to continue to grow in the next three years.

Digital transformation in particular remains a key challenge: for 77 percent of German CEOs, cybercrime and cyber insecurity, for 76 percent the successful integration of AI into business processes and for 72 percent the training of their own workforce in dealing with AI are key areas of action. In addition, 77 percent see higher costs, 63 percent geopolitical conflicts and 62 percent increasing regulation as major challenges. Companies therefore have to act on many fronts at the same time.

As a result of these multiple pressures, all CEOs in Germany have adjusted or are planning to adjust their growth strategy: 82 percent of German companies have already made adjustments and a further 18 percent intend to follow suit. Internationally, the figures are 72 percent and 28 percent respectively. A visible expression of this realignment is the increased willingness to make acquisitions: 58 percent of German CEOs consider major takeovers to be likely, which will have a noticeable impact on their company - last year, only 40 percent stated this in Germany, while the global average for 2025 is only 41 percent. Personnel planning is also changing, but despite weak growth expectations, the majority of CEOs continue to focus on expanding their workforce: 86 percent of German CEOs want to create additional jobs in the next three years - among them, 40 percent even expect an increase in personnel of more than 5 percent.  

Despite or perhaps because of the gloomy economic outlook, German CEOs are increasingly turning their attention to artificial intelligence and are planning significant investments. 68 percent cite the technology as a top investment target, while 80 percent intend to allocate more than 10 percent of their budget to generative AI on average over the next twelve months. Internationally, the figure is 83 percent.

German CEOs expect measurable returns from the use of AI in the short term. In each case, 18 percent of CEOs cite greater profitability and better decision-making and data analysis as the most important benefits of AI. In addition to the benefits, CEOs see hurdles in the introduction of AI: a lack of regulation (70%), ethical challenges (62%), high implementation costs and insufficient data quality (58% each) were rated as particularly challenging by respondents.

In order to overcome these hurdles, they are focusing on training rather than job cuts when introducing AI: almost half (47%) are investing in training in the short term over the coming year. 73 percent will also redesign roles and career paths in the medium term over the next two to five years. The biggest challenge cited by 30 percent is identifying suitable candidates with AI expertise.

For the "KPMG CEO Outlook 2025", 1,350 CEOs of large companies worldwide were surveyed in August and September 2025. The study covers eleven key industries and includes executives from Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Spain, the UK and the USA. The companies have an annual turnover of at least 500 million US dollars. The CEO Outlook 2025 is the eleventh edition of the series.

Pre-order the study now: www.kpmg.de/CEO-Outlook

KPMG AG Wirtschaftsprüfungsgesellschaft
Clemens Reisbeck
T +49 89 9282 6632
creisbeck@kpmg.com
www.kpmg.com/de