Recession talk spikes on S&P 500 earnings calls. CEO survey shows 62 percent brace for slowdown or worse. Small business optimism drops fourth month to 95.8
US executives are getting more concerned about the economy: The share of S&P 500 companies mentioning “recession” during their Q1 2025 earnings calls spiked to 23%, the highest since 2022. This percentage has surpassed levels recorded in all years between 2008 and 2020, except for 2010. Additionally, 62% of US CEOs expect either a slowdown …