Business Roundtable Releases First Quarter 2010 CEO Economic Outlook Survey

CEOs expect increased employment, sales; cautious about capital expenditures.

Washington – The CEOs of America’s leading companies anticipate increased sales and employment in the next six months and expect capital spending to remain even, according to the results of Business Roundtable’s second quarter 2010 CEO Economic Outlook Survey.

“Our member CEOs plan to continue hiring and expect improved sales,” said Ivan G. Seidenberg, Chairman of Business Roundtable and Chairman and CEO of Verizon Communications. “That said, our CEOs are demonstrating some caution in the area of capital expenditures, with fewer planning to increase spending and more keeping it level.”

Survey Results

The survey’s key findings from this quarter and the first quarter of 2010 include:

In particular, the CEOs anticipate capital spending to level over the next six months:

In terms of the overall U.S. economy, member CEOs estimate real GDP will grow by 2.7 percent in 2010.

Second Quarter 2010 CEO Economic Outlook Survey Index

The Business Roundtable CEO Economic Outlook Survey Index expanded to 94.6 in the second quarter of 2010, up from 88.9 in the first quarter of 2010.

Business Roundtable is an association of chief executive officers of leading corporations, representing a combined workforce of more than 12 million employees and nearly $6 trillion in annual revenues. Business Roundtable’s CEO Economic Outlook Survey, conducted quarterly since the fourth quarter of 2002, provides a forward-looking view of the economic outlook of Business Roundtable member CEOs.

The survey was completed between May 24 and June 14. The percentages in some categories may not equal 100 due to rounding.