CEOs are losing confidence, new survey finds

Data: The Conference Board and The Business Council; Note: A number below 50 reflects more negative than positive responses; Chart: Emily Peck/AxiosThe CEOs of the world's biggest companies lost confidence in the economy this month as the Iran war dragged on, a new survey finds.Why it matters: Business leaders who lack confidence tend to pull back on hiring and investment, weighing further on the economy.Zoom in: CEO confidence fell 12 points in the second quarter of the year, to 47, per the survey from The Conference Board, a nonpartisan think tank, and The Business Council, an association of CEOs. Any number below 50 signals negative sentiment.141 Fortune Global 500 chief executives participated in the survey, conducted from May 4—May 18, the war's third month.Zoom out: When President Trump first took office last year, CEO confidence shot up to its highest levels in years on hopes that he would take a light touch with regulation and pass a big juicy tax cut.But those expectations soon took a hit in the wake of Liberation Day. After the administration backed off its harshest tariff policies, optimism began to recover, but the war appears to have dissolved that upward momentum.By the numbers: 47 of CEOs said economic conditions were worse, up from 8 at the start of the year.Only 15 of CEOs said economic conditions were better now than six months ago, down from 39 in the first three months of the year. The big picture: CEOs — they're just like us! Americans' optimism about the economy is also broadly in the dumps, as numerous surveys have found recently. Yes, but: That hasn't troubled stock investors. And CEOs haven't yet changed their plans around capital investment — an increasing share said they planned to increase that spending in the year ahead.