Deloitte “CFO Signals” Report 4Q 2011 – Notable Aspects

Recently Deloitte released their “CFO Signals” report for 4th Quarter 2011.

As seen in page 2 of the full (pdf) report, “Eighty four CFOs responded during the two weeks ended November 29.  Over 70% are from public companies, and over 75% are from companies with more than $1B in annual revenue."

Here are some excerpts that I found notable:

from page 6:

CFOs now project average sales gains of about 6.3%* (down from last quarter’s 6.8%* and a new low for this survey), but 87% do expect year-over-year gains.  Earnings growth expectations rebounded from their 18-month low of 9.3%* last quarter to 10.1%* this quarter.  Projections for U.S. firms were above average at 10.9%* (10.5%* last quarter), with Canada lower at 7.4%* (8%* last quarter).

from page 6:

Despite their pessimistic sentiment, many CFOs appear to expect a brighter future. Few CFOs see economic conditions improving by the middle of 2012, but nearly 90% expect their home economies to be in better shape three years from now.

from page 8:

From late 2010 through the first part of 2011, CFOs’ concerns about global and domestic economies took a back seat to worries about internal missteps and detrimental government policy as barriers to growth. But two quarters ago, apparently sparked by rising sovereign debt issues in Europe, economic concerns began to climb back to the top of CFOs most worrisome risks. Recent escalation of the euro-zone financial crisis has only fueled the climb.

from page 12, regarding "Top Company Challenges" :

Revenue from existing markets again tops this quarter’s list with 54% of all CFOs and six of eight sectors naming it the top challenge (Energy/Resources and Healthcare/ Pharma are the exceptions). Revenue from new markets rebounded to 27%, up from 20% last quarter. It is a top concern for Technology, T/M/E, and Services.

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The Special Note summarizes my overall thoughts about our economic situation

SPX at 1315.38 as this post is written