Customs policy Many companies have held back investments in 2025
US tariff policy and fears of a trade war led many Swiss companies to hold back on investments last year. Nevertheless, most company bosses are optimistic about the new year.
20.01.2026, 08:55
20.01.2026, 08:56
SDA
According to the latest edition of the CEO survey by consulting firm EY, around eight out of ten Swiss CEOs (82%) have changed their strategic investment plans due to the changed geopolitical environment. A total of 50 Swiss CEOs were surveyed, compared with 1200 worldwide.
Swiss CEOs were particularly likely to say that planned investments had been delayed or operational assets had been relocated to other markets (28%), according to a press release issued on Tuesday. In addition, one in ten Swiss companies surveyed had halted planned investments.
According to the survey, investments in Switzerland continue to be a priority for 42% of the Swiss CEOs surveyed, while new capital allocations are flowing primarily to Germany (26%) and France (18%). Overall, more than 92% of planned investments will be made in Europe.
Customs deal helps
Switzerland's customs deal with the USA in November, with a tariff rate of 15%, has led Swiss company bosses to be confident about the new year 2026. In the survey, 78% of respondents were optimistic about global economic development over the next twelve months. Compared to the last survey in September 2025, this is an increase of 10 percent. According to EY, optimism in the survey was slightly lower worldwide than in Switzerland.
The positive basic attitude is also reflected in the expectations for company performance: almost all Swiss CEOs surveyed (94%) expect sales and productivity to increase in 2026, while 86% also expect profitability to improve. The financial market conditions and capital procurement are also viewed positively by the vast majority. Half of Swiss company managers (50%) also expect operating costs to fall in 2026.
Digitalization and artificial intelligence
With regard to investments in 2026, almost four out of ten Swiss CEOs see digitalization and artificial intelligence as the most important growth measures. Improving geopolitical risk management is in second place in this country with 24%, followed by localization and regionalization measures (12%).
Despite the geopolitical uncertainties, interest in mergers, acquisitions and strategic partnerships remains high: 62% of Swiss companies are planning at least one M&A transaction in the next twelve months. This is an increase of 22% compared to the September survey.
At the same time, Swiss managers continue to show a strong preference for establishing strategic partnerships, as these offer the advantage of minimizing costs and conserving company resources. The proportion of Swiss CEOs who are aiming for at least one alliance or joint venture within the next twelve months is 80 percent in the survey.
