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The coronavirus crisis drags on, but tech CFOs are feeling a little less pessimistic

65% of TMT CFOs anticipate revenue or profit declines, down 19 percentage points from two weeks earlier.

Robots doing inventory in a warehouse

Forty percent of the CFOs surveyed said they now plan to accelerate automation and new ways of working.

Photo: Getty Images

Tech CFOs are increasingly confident that their businesses can withstand coronavirus, according to a new survey from PwC.

Sixty-five percent of tech, media and telecoms executives anticipated revenue or profit declines as a result of the crisis when surveyed last week — still a large number but down 19 percentage points from when PwC asked the same question in early April. The increased optimism — or at least decreased pessimism — stands in stark contrast to the views of CFOs across all industries. In the earlier survey, 81% of those CFOs predicted revenue or profit declines. In the latest one, 80% still do.

M&A sentiment also remains strong in the tech sector: Only 13% of tech, media and telecoms CFOs said COVID-19 was decreasing their appetite for takeovers, versus 25% across all industries. The majority of tech CFOs said the crisis hasn't changed their M&A strategy.

But some things will change for tech. Thirty-eight percent of tech, media and telecom CFOs said they're likely to reduce their real estate footprint, significantly greater than the 26% of all CFOs that plan to do the same. And other industries' decisions could have impacts on the tech sector: 70% of CFOs said they are considering deferring or canceling planned investments, of which 48% said they were reconsidering IT investments.

Tech could see windfalls, though: 40% of the CFOs surveyed said they now plan to accelerate automation and new ways of working.

This story is featured in Protocol Index, a daily guide to the business of tech. Subscribe here to get Index in your inbox each morning.

Shakeel Hashim

Shakeel Hashim ( @shakeelhashim) is a former growth manager at Protocol, based in London. He was previously an analyst at Finimize covering business and economics, and a digital journalist at News UK. His writing has appeared in The Economist and its book, Uncommon Knowledge.

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