PwC’s 29th Global CEO Survey brings together perspectives from 4,454 CEOs across 95 countries and territories, spanning a broad range of industries and company sizes. While the findings are not sector-specific, they offer a clear snapshot of how senior leaders are thinking about AI, growth, and trust at a moment marked by uncertainty and rapid technological change. 

For fintech leaders, these signals are worth paying attention to. Many of the themes highlighted in the survey, from AI adoption and value creation to cross-sector competition and stakeholder trust, closely mirror the realities of building and scaling financial technology businesses.

AI adoption is rising, but financial impact remains uneven  

One of the most striking findings in the survey is the gap between AI activity and measurable results. More than half of CEOs (56%) say AI delivered neither higher revenue nor lower costs over the last 12 months. At the same time, 30% report revenue growth linked to AI, and 26% report cost reductions. Only 12% achieved both outcomes simultaneously. 

Deployment levels help explain the gap. A relatively small share of CEOs say they are using AI to a large or very large extent across core areas of the business. This includes demand generation (22%), support services (20%), products, services and experiences (19%), direction setting (15%), and demand fulfilment (13%). 

PwC’s analysis suggests that experimentation alone is not enough. CEOs reporting tangible AI benefits tend to have stronger foundations in place, including integrated technology environments, defined AI road maps, formal responsible AI and risk processes, and organisational cultures that support adoption at scale. 

Growth is increasingly cross-sector, with finance firmly in view  

AI sits alongside other forces reshaping competitive boundaries. 42% of CEOs say their company has started competing in new sectors over the past five years, reflecting a broader reconfiguration of industries. 

When asked where they are looking for growth, CEOs most often point to technology. In parallel, technology CEOs identify several adjacent sectors as expansion targets, including banking and capital markets. PwC explicitly links this trend to continued expansion by financial technology firms into banking and payments, as well as efforts by large technology players to partner with or disrupt incumbent financial institutions. 

The data also shows that companies generating a higher share of revenue from new sectors tend to report higher profit margins and stronger confidence in future growth. 

Trust is emerging as a measurable driver of value  

Trust concerns are no longer abstract. Two-thirds of CEOs (66%) say their company experienced stakeholder trust concerns in the past year, spanning topics such as AI safety or responsible AI (32%) and data use and privacy (26%). 

PwC’s analysis connects these concerns directly to performance. Public companies with fewer trust issues delivered total shareholder returns nine percentage points higher over a 12-month period than those facing the most trust challenges. 

At the same time, risk exposure is increasing. 31% of CEOs say their company is highly or extremely exposed to significant financial loss from cyber threats in the year ahead, placing cyber risk alongside macroeconomic volatility as a top concern. 

Key takeaways for fintech startups  

Taken together, the survey offers several clear signals that fintech leaders may want to keep in focus:

• Most CEOs are still early in translating AI investment into measurable financial outcomes.
  
  
• Clear AI returns are associated with scale, integration, and strong governance foundations.
  
  
• Cross-sector competition is becoming normalised, with banking and capital markets squarely on the radar of technology leaders.
  
  
• Trust, including responsible AI and data privacy, shows a direct link to company value.
  
  
• Cyber risk continues to rise, reinforcing the importance of resilient systems and controls. 

If you want help turning these signals into a clear AI narrative for your product, positioning, or leadership discussions, contact us. We work with fintech teams to build grounded strategies and messaging, rooted in evidence rather than assumptions.