Around 26% of companies in Germany expect their activity to deteriorate in 2026, according to a survey published Monday by the economic institute Ifo.
The survey showed that 59% of companies do not expect a change in their economic situation next year, while 14.9% expect an improvement.
“Companies remain very cautious. There is no spirit of optimism anywhere,” said Klaus Wohlrabe, research director at Ifo. “Almost no sector is really optimistic about 2026.”
In the services sector, 62.8% of those surveyed expect their situation to remain stable, 23.2% expect an unfavorable development and 14% see an improvement.
A particularly large number of pessimistic assessments come from the trade sector, with 32.5% of companies expecting a deterioration, Ifo said.
The outlook in the construction sector is also moderate, with 33.2% of companies expecting a less favorable situation, 56.5% expecting business as usual and 10.3% expecting better business.
“The figures are surprising, because the sector could really wait for the announced infrastructure package,” Wohlrabe said. “It still doesn’t seem to cause euphoria.”
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