Key Issues Facing CFOs to be Discussed at Gartner CFO & Finance Executive Conference, September 10-11, in London
Gartner experts will be exploring cost optimization and driving profitable growth at the Gartner CFO & Finance Executive Conference, taking place in London, September 10-11.
“This survey of finance leaders shows a near absence of planned increases in capital expenditures in the second half of 2025,” said Alexander Bant, Chief of Research in the Gartner Finance practice. “This underscores a conservative approach to the uncertain economic and policy landscape organizations are facing currently.”
A Gartner webinar poll of 197 finance leaders, taken on June 19, 2025, revealed a strong inclination toward caution and a willingness to pause or deprioritize capital spending. Three percent of respondents report pausing or deprioritizing more than 25% of capital spending for 2025 (see Figure 1).
Figure 1: Planned Capital Expenditure Changes in H2 2025
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Source: Gartner (July 2025)
Figure 1: Planned H2 2025 Cost Cuts
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Source: Gartner (July 2025)
AI Investment Remains a Top Priority
“We are seeing that even as CFOs tighten cost controls and pause on large-scale investments, they’re not retreating from AI. Instead, they’re sharpening their focus — shifting from broad experimentation to targeted enterprise use cases that offer measurable impact,” said Bant.
