83% of CFOs Call U.S. Stocks Overvalued in Sharp Sentiment Shift

Eighty-three percent of CFOs now say U.S. equity markets are overvalued — up from 49% just one quarter earlier, according to Deloitte's Q3 2026 CFO Signals survey.

The jump in valuation anxiety came alongside a rise in CFO confidence about their own businesses. Deloitte polled 200 North American finance chiefs at companies with at least $1 billion in revenue. The survey's CFO Confidence Score climbed to 6.1 from 5.9 last quarter, moving back into "high" territory.

Ninety percent of respondents said they were more optimistic about their companies' financial prospects. Risk appetite cooled slightly: 53% said now is a good time to take greater risks, down from 59% in Q2. Ed Hardy, U.S. financial services leader at Deloitte, noted that CFOs' views on the relative attractiveness of debt and equity financing changed little.

The gap between how CFOs see their own businesses and how they see the broader market stood out to Hardy. Despite the surge in the share calling stocks overvalued, equity attractiveness remained flat in Q3, while debt attractiveness increased four percentage points.

"If they feel it's overvalued, buying might not be the most objective thing to do," Hardy said. Elevated valuations are prompting finance chiefs to "search for the highest use of capital," a dynamic he connects to rising investment in AI.

AI and cybersecurity risks climb the agenda

Technology deployment, including generative AI, ranked among CFOs' leading internal concerns. Cybersecurity topped the external-risk list at 50%. Hardy said the two are closely linked.

"AI probably starts to increase your already heightened concern around cyber," he said, pointing to the growing use of open platforms and third-party models.

CFOs' 12-month outlook for the North American economy slipped slightly but remained generally steady compared with Q2. Inflation, supply chain disruption and the economy itself ranked among their leading external concerns, trailing cybersecurity.

The survey window matters for interpreting the results. Data collection started Aug. 24 and wrapped Sept. 8 — before the Federal Reserve's Sept. 16 rate decision. That leaves open how CFO sentiment might shift in the next quarter.

"You always wonder whether it's embedded into the psyche of where they think the market's going," Hardy said. He added that he will be watching closely to see whether economic and geopolitical uncertainty eases into 2027.

Looking ahead to 2027, Hardy said he expects CFOs to keep pushing AI "beyond experiment into really grounded applications," while wrestling with governance, shifting token-based pricing models and how to measure real benefits.

"The CFO role is increasing in being a convener across the enterprise," he said, as finance takes on broader oversight of AI's costs and outcomes.

For corporate finance leaders, the message from the quarter is a split-screen one: fund your own growth, hedge against the market — and budget for the cyber bill that AI adoption brings with it.