CEO optimism in Romania is at its lowest level in five years. At the same time, Romanian companies are expanding into new business sectors, gaining market share and planning bolder acquisitions than ever before, as shown in the local edition of the PwC CEO Survey 2026.
„The perception of Romanian business leaders is apparently paradoxical, but the two trends actually complement each other. Low optimism reflects a maturing of the Romanian business environment. CEOs no longer look to the future with unconditional enthusiasm, but through a lucid assessment of the country's economic and fiscal budgetary situation, international geopolitical risks and the accelerated digital transformation. It is a rational pessimism. At the same time, expanding into new sectors, gaining market share and appetite for acquisitions is exactly the right response to uncertainty. In a volatile environment, inaction is the biggest risk. Companies are taking advantage of more attractive valuations, shrinking less prepared competitors and diversifying to become stronger,” said Daniel Anghel, Country Managing Partner PwC Romania.
Confidence falls but appetite for action rises
Only one in four CEOs in Romania (25%) are confident about the company's revenue growth in the coming year, the lowest level in the last five years and below the global average (30%) and the average in Central and Eastern Europe (42%). Also, only 39% are confident about the company's three-year growth prospects, down from previous editions.
However, companies in Romania are not stagnating. The majority (57%) have managed to increase their market share in the last five years, above the global (42%) and regional (46%) average. 52% have also entered new industries and 46% are planning at least one major acquisition in the next three years.
„Romania is a key market in Central and Eastern Europe. Romanian CEOs are more cautious than their CEE counterparts about the economic outlook, reflecting the more restrictive conditions in the domestic market. However, they show remarkable ambition and resilience. More than half have entered new industries in recent years, a higher proportion than the regional and global averages.
Această combinație de prudență și acțiune evidențiază rolul României în conturarea regiunii ECE în ansamblu. Mesajul este clar: accelerarea inovației digitale și integrarea profundă a inteligenței artificiale. Provocări precum inflația și riscurile geopolitice persistă, dar voința de a inova și de a construi reziliență este puternică,” a concluzionat Agnieszka Gajewska, PwC CEE CEO-elect.
AI: a lot of potential, but concrete results are still awaited
Artificial intelligence (AI) is on everyone's lips, but the financial results are still lagging behind. Only 12% of executives say their organizations have achieved both additional revenue and cost savings thanks to AI, a figure similar to the regional and global average. Over half of local business leaders admit that the use of AI in core processes is still minimal.
But the positive signs are there: almost half (48%) already have a clear AI strategy, two-thirds (67%) say their organization has a culture open to its adoption, and Romania is outperforming the regional average in using AI for product development, demand generation and business strategy.
The challenge for local companies is now to move from pilot projects to real, organization-wide integration.
What keeps Romania's business leaders awake
Inflation, macroeconomic volatility and geopolitical conflicts remain the main concerns for CEOs in Romania. One-third of leaders say their organizations are highly exposed to economic instability, i.e. rising prices, up from last year. Almost as many (28%) see a high risk from geopolitical conflicts.
The effects are being felt concretely: 43% say geopolitical instability has reduced their appetite for major investments, and 32% anticipate falling profit margins due to trade tariffs, both percentages higher than at the global or regional level.
More worrying is that only 181TPTP3T of executives in Romania perceive a high risk from cyber threats, while globally, almost a third (311TPTP3T) of CEOs see cyber risks as a significant threat to their organizations. The gap does not indicate that Romanian firms are more secure, but that they have not yet been targeted by major cyber attacks.
