By |Published On: September 24th, 2015|Categories: Uncategorized|

According to the latest Global Business Outlook survey jointly conducted by Duke University and CFO magazine, 55% of U.S. companies say they think the stock market is overvalued, while only 6% of them think the stock market is undervalued.

More than 1,200 CFOs, including 510 from the U.S., participated in this recent quarterly survey. The survey questions cover five main parts: Business Optimism, CFO top concerns, Employment and wages, stock market valuation, and risk management concerns. (Click to download: CFOsurveyOverview_2015Q3 Final)

CFOs are very bearish on the U.S. market,” said Fuqua professor Campbell R. Harvey, a founding director of the survey. “Our survey took place during a volatile time where there was a 10 percent market correction. Even after this drawdown, 55 percent of CFOs thought the market was overvalued. source.

is the stock market overvalued or undervalued_CFO Suvey overview 2015Q3

screenshot from the 2015Q3 Global Busines Outlook summary.

Here are some stats on various metrics from 510 U.S. firms.

  • CFOs’ expected earnings growth in next 12 months is 3.0%, down from 11.7% last year.
  • CFOs’ expected revenue growth in the next 12 months is 3.5%, down from 7.3% last year.
earnings and revenue growth

**The survey has been conducted every quarter since July 1996. An archive of past surveys is available under the “Past Results” tab athttp://www.cfosurvey.org.

Not a lot of bulls in CFO land…

About the Author: Wesley Gray, PhD

Wesley Gray, PhD
After serving as a Captain in the United States Marine Corps, Dr. Gray earned an MBA and a PhD in finance from the University of Chicago where he studied under Nobel Prize Winner Eugene Fama. Next, Wes took an academic job in his wife’s hometown of Philadelphia and worked as a finance professor at Drexel University. Dr. Gray’s interest in bridging the research gap between academia and industry led him to found Alpha Architect, an asset management firm dedicated to an impact mission of empowering investors through education. He is a contributor to multiple industry publications and regularly speaks to professional investor groups across the country. Wes has published multiple academic papers and four books, including Embedded (Naval Institute Press, 2009), Quantitative Value (Wiley, 2012), DIY Financial Advisor (Wiley, 2015), and Quantitative Momentum (Wiley, 2016). Dr. Gray currently resides in Palmas Del Mar Puerto Rico with his wife and three children. He recently finished the Leadville 100 ultramarathon race and promises to make better life decisions in the future.