Investors and business leaders are generally optimistic about the outlook for 2027 even as geopolitical uncertainty, inflation, and higher interest rates have prompted greater caution
FinTech BizNews Service
Mumbai, 06 November, 2026: Investors and business leaders are generally optimistic about the outlook for 2027 even as geopolitical uncertainty, inflation, and higher interest rates have prompted greater caution relative to the beginning of 2026, according to John Waldron, president and chief operating officer of Goldman Sachs.
The higher cost of capital and of doing business is a challenge for companies, Waldron says on the Goldman Sachs Exchanges podcast. At the same time, he says, “there's plenty of good things going on”—particularly in the US, where nominal economic growth is robust and the consumer is resilient.
“Most companies are seeing pretty strong end demand, and we still have very strong earnings. So I'm still on the side of optimism when I think about our clients and what they're feeling,” Waldron says.
Companies are increasingly turning to mergers and acquisitions (M&A) as they seek scale, which brings with it the ability to attract more capital and generate better returns. Waldron expects corporate M&A to grow 30%-35% in 2026, which he says could make 2026 a record year for M&A. He views this as a sign that executives are positive about their companies and the operating environment. “CEOs are not going to do M&A transactions if they're not feeling confident in their own business.”
