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Nine in 10 small business leaders doubt survival in Sentry survey
Sentry found 90% of executives at firms with 10 to 49 employees are more concerned about their company’s future since January, and 65% reported negative impacts from geopolitical events.
Confidence among US business leaders has deteriorated sharply since the start of 2026, with 82% of executives saying they are more concerned about their company’s future than they were in January, according to mutual insurer Sentry’s 2026 C-Suite Stress Index: Midyear Report.
Sentry said 98% of executives surveyed reported that midyear events have changed how they approach long-term planning and risk management, reflecting shifting trade policy, geopolitical instability, and operational disruption across the first half of the year.
The survey points to a bigger hit for smaller firms. Ninety percent of executives at companies with 10 to 49 employees said they are more concerned following this year’s events, a 21 percentage point increase from where they stood at the start of 2026, versus 69% for companies with more than 1,000 employees.
Sentry also reported that executives are not only worried, they are seeing effects. Sixty-five percent said they already experienced negative impacts from geopolitical events, and 95% said they are struggling to keep pace with how quickly external risks are evolving, while concerns rose for supply chain and logistics disruption to 62%, tariff and trade uncertainty to 52%, and labor shortages to 49%.