83% of CFOs say U.S. stocks are overvalued, even as optimism about their companies rises

Good morning. According to Deloitte's Q3 2026 CFO Signals survey, 83% of North American finance chiefs believe U.S. equity markets are overvalued, despite an increase in optimism about their own companies' financial prospects. The CFO Confidence Score rose to 6.1 from 5.9, moving into "high" territory. While risk appetite slightly cooled, 53% of CFOs still considered now a suitable time to take greater risks, down from 59% in Q2.

Ed Hardy, U.S. financial services leader at Deloitte, noted a growing gap between CFOs' views on their companies and the broader market. Sixty-three percent of CFOs reported greater optimism about their companies, while only 49% found U.S. stocks attractive. Despite this, debt attractiveness rose by four percentage points. AI and technology deployment, including generative AI, ranked as major internal concerns, while cybersecurity concerns were the primary external risks.

Inflation, supply chain disruption, and the economy itself also topped the list of external concerns. As the Federal Reserve's September rate decision approached, survey data collection ended, leaving uncertainty about how CFO sentiment might evolve. Hardy expects CFOs to focus on practical AI applications, grappling with governance, token-based pricing models, and measuring AI's real-world benefits.

He believes the CFO role is evolving into a broader enterprise convener, overseeing AI's costs and outcomes.