San Diego – October 19, 2026 -- The Vistage CEO Confidence Index fell 3.4 points to 80.8 in Q3 2026 from 84.2 in the prior quarter, marking the third consecutive quarterly decline in small and midsize business (SMB) CEO sentiment.

Expectations for the year ahead dropped the most. Only 19% of CEOs expect the U.S. economy to improve over the next year, down 10 percentage points from last quarter and 13 points below Q3 2025. A further 34% expect conditions to worsen, up 8 points.