KPMG CEO survey: cyber risk tops growth threats at 31%, AI priority at 79%

KPMG published its 12th annual Global CEO Outlook on Oct. 15, 2026, after surveying 1,400 chief executives between Aug. 11 and Sept. 21, and 31% named cybersecurity and data security the top threat to growth over the next three years.

Cyber risk leads the list of growth threats at 31%

KPMG said in its press release that 31% of CEOs see cyber and data security as the greatest risk to growth over three years.

Global economic uncertainty followed at 28%, with geopolitical instability and regulatory pressures both at 26%.

Spending follows the worry. According to KPMG, 45% of CEOs have increased investment in cybersecurity and digital risk resilience, ahead of regulatory compliance and reporting at 36%.

The respondents run companies with annual revenue above $500 million, and a third report more than $10 billion, KPMG said. The panel covers 12 markets and 13 industry sectors.

Confidence in the global economy slips to 65% while company outlook improves

KPMG said confidence in the global economy fell from 68% in 2025 to 65%, the lowest level since 2021. That is a drop of 3 percentage points (our calculation: 68 - 65).

Confidence in their own company's three-year growth moved the other way, rising from 79% to 84%, according to the survey. In all, 68% expect annual growth of at least 2.5%, against 61% in 2025.

The International Monetary Fund projects global growth to slow to 3.1% in 2026 and rebound to 3.4% in 2027, according to its World Economic Outlook published Oct. 13, 2026.

AI stays a top priority, with payback expected in years rather than months

KPMG said 79% of CEOs call AI a top investment priority over the next three years, up from 71% in 2025. That is a rise of 8 percentage points (our calculation: 79 - 71).

Spending plans are large. According to the survey, 72% of CEOs expect to spend more than 10% of their budget on AI over the next year.

Returns are expected slowly. KPMG said 71% anticipate a return within one to three years, while 14% expect one within six to 12 months, down from 19% last year.

Ethical challenges lead the obstacles to AI at 57%, followed by cybersecurity at 52% and cost at 51%, according to KPMG.

PwC's survey of 3,934 executives points the same way on cyber budgets

PwC said in a press release on Oct. 1, 2026 that 84% of security and finance leaders expect cyber budgets to rise, up from 78% last year.

The survey covered 3,934 business and technology executives in 71 countries and territories.

PwC also reported that 39% have a fully formalized, operational continuity plan covering cyber risks, and 50% name attacks on AI systems among the threats they are least prepared to address.

KPMG's U.S. edition, published the same day as the global release, reports that 85% of U.S. CEOs expect cybercrime and cyber insecurity to affect their organization's prosperity over three years.

Report in numbers

Caption: KPMG fieldwork Aug. 11-Sept. 21, 2026; PwC release Oct. 1, 2026; IMF outlook Oct. 13, 2026. Percentage-point changes in the text are our calculation.

What the surveys do not show

Both KPMG and PwC report self-declared views, not actual spending or losses. The figures say what executives expect, and the two samples differ in size, countries and respondent type.

KPMG's U.S. edition cites more than 1,300 CEOs worldwide, while the global release cites 1,400, so sample counts differ between KPMG pages. We found no independent dataset for CEO sentiment, so the comparison with PwC and the IMF is indicative.

How we reported this: We opened the KPMG pages, the PwC release and the IMF outlook on Oct. 23, 2026. Percentage-point changes are our calculation. We did not open the full report PDF.