Why CFOs are now doubling down on deals?
In a strategic pivot, U.S. chief financial officers are taking the offensive, actively pursuing mergers and acquisitions despite the lingering shadow of tariff turbulence.
According to Bloomberg, transaction volumes are climbing, driven by companies like Merck, Westlake Chemical, e.l.f. Beauty, Fortescue Metals and Salesforce.
Rather than waiting on trade-policy clarity, CFOs are seizing current valuations and financing windows, demonstrating resolve in the face of geopolitical unpredictability.
Survey data from Duke University and the Federal Reserve (Richmond & Atlanta) shows nearly 40?% of CFOs rating tariffs among their top pressures.
Around the same share are passing costs to customers or delaying capex. But many are shifting focus to internal levers—cost control, working capital optimization, and lean operations. That strategic orientation is not reactive; it’s calculated.
Structural tools such as supply-chain realignment, supplier diversification, and inventory pre-positioning (e.g., for industrial firms and automakers) are becoming standard risk buffers.
On timing, CFOs are wisely treating tariffs as episodic.
One executive said: “If we see a big tariff from one country, we can shift volume to another.” Others are embedding dynamic mechanisms—pricing flexibility, expedited contract negotiations—to limit surprises.
Lyft’s CFO Erin Brewer is walking the walk. The ride-sharing company has hit major financial milestones—positive cash flow and adjusted EBITDA—and Brewer credits disciplined pricing strategy, careful cost management, and focused performance execution.
Although some price pressure persists, the firm continues expanding rider and driver engagement, telling proof of their model’s resilience.
At recent CFO summits, including the WSJ’s and EY’s roundtables, finance leaders acknowledged a growing sense of caution.
EY reports nearly 55?% of Fortune 250 CFOs feel more bearish now than six months ago, citing tariffs among a portfolio of risks that also includes taxes, interest rates, and AI implementation. Still, the prevailing message is to act—not to freeze.
WSJ panelists echoed this, urging for policy transparency and supply-chain overhaul.
They pressed for deliberate “calm messaging” from policymakers, to reduce the elevators-and-drops feeling that hampers forecasting and budgeting .
Several factors underpin the uptick in CFO-led deal activity:
As WSJ noted earlier in the year, balance sheets are being reshaped, GenAI is accelerating analytics, and M&A is emerging as a key growth vector for well-capitalized CFOs.
The current environment doesn’t reward hesitation. Instead, it demands clarity, precision, and a steady hand.
The following framework distills the prevailing strategies CFOs are deploying to stay ahead of volatility and turn external unpredictability into internal momentum:
Far from calmer, the CFO landscape remains complex—but paradoxically purposeful.
With macro risks elevated, strategic clarity has sharpened. Deal pipelines are robust, and finance chiefs are driving through crosswinds with focus, discipline, and agility.
For CFOs, the emphasis has shifted: not if to act amidst uncertainty—but how to act strategically right now.