Global business sentiment remained flat during Q3 2022 but declined by 2 percent year-on-year (YoY), with companies across industries experiencing slow growth due to softening demand, geopolitical uncertainties, and economic volatility, revealed GlobalData, a data and analytics company. According to GlobalData’s “Company Filings Analytics – Trends and Signals Q3 2022” report, “Inflation,” “Shortages,” and “Supply Chain” were among the most mentioned keywords. Ukraine and Russia continued to find the highest mentions’ growth during the quarter. Mentions of Sri Lanka, Belarus, China, and Germany picked up during the quarter.
Geopolitics appeared as the trending theme across industries as the companies discussed the Russia-Ukraine conflict with more technology and oil and gas companies discussing the conflict. For example, BP Plc in its Q3 2022 report mentioned that “Russia has implemented a number of counter-sanctions including restrictions on the divestment from Russian assets by foreign investors.”
Technology industry had the highest sentiment while retail was more positive due to optimism from investments around digital capabilities such as smart logistics and omnichannel. Discussions around Beyond-5G/B5G and 6G technologies were significant. The consumer, insurance, medical, aerospace, defence, security, and travel and tourism sectors all witnessed a slight decline in sentiment.
Ekta Chourasia, Analyst at GlobalData, commented: “Mega-cap companies showed an improvement in sentiment in Q3 compared to the previous quarter. Companies are attempting to mitigate the impact of inflation via price increases, operational efficiencies. To counter the continuing global supply chain issues, companies are also looking at alternate suppliers, locations and building inventories locally. Companies are also discussing labor.
“Space Systems, Batteries, LNG, Commodity Prices, and Supply Chain Management saw a jump in theme mentions. Companies are also discussing Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as part of their ESG initiatives. Additionally, amidst the prevailing geopolitical unrest, there seems to be rising emphasis on SDG 16 (Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions).”
