In the quarter ended 30 June 2026, CEOs sounded most confident in technology and least confident in energy and materials: our CEO sentiment index, the Clarifo CEO Barometer, read 68 for technology companies and 55 for energy and materials, against 61 for all 606 companies scored. Demand was the dominant theme in 141 of those 606 CEO reviews.
Q3 2026 reviews are still coming in, so we use Q2 2026, the latest confirmed period, and quote three Nordic CEOs word for word on what they saw in demand.
Q2 2026 is the latest confirmed CEO Barometer period
As of 28 October 2026, the newest period with enough reporters to be confirmed is the quarter ended 30 June 2026: 606 of the 1,352 companies covered, or 45%. Q3 2026 readings will appear as provisional while the season runs, and are confirmed once it is in. The index runs from 0 to 100; 57 and above is positive, 27 and below is negative, and 50 is the average tone of Nordic companies in 2020-2023. The method is set out in how the CEO Barometer works.
CEO sentiment index by sector in Q2 2026: technology 68, energy and materials 55
The table shows the CEO Barometer index by sector for Q2 2026, with the number of companies scored and the change from Q1 2026.
| Sector | Companies | Index | Change vs Q1 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Technology | 102 | 68 | +1 |
| Financials | 102 | 64 | +2 |
| Industrials | 143 | 62 | +6 |
| Consumer and health care | 164 | 58 | +3 |
| Energy and materials | 94 | 55 | +5 |
| All companies | 606 | 61 | +3 |
Source: Clarifo CEO Barometer, period ended 30 June 2026, confirmed. US and Nordic companies combined; one company outside these sectors is included in the total.1
Every sector rose from Q1 2026, and industrials rose most, by 6 points. By market, the S&P 500 read 63 (483 companies), Nasdaq Helsinki 56 (69) and Nasdaq Stockholm 55 (53). Among the 117 companies classified by size, large caps read 57, mid caps 56 and small caps 50. Levels across markets are not directly comparable, because US readings come from letters to shareholders and Nordic readings from CEO reviews.
Where demand language was strongest and weakest
Each review also gets a demand reading on a 0-4 scale. The table lists companies at both ends in Q2 2026.
| Company | Market | Demand reading (0-4) | Index |
|---|---|---|---|
| Applied Materials, Inc. (AMAT) | S&P 500 | 4.00 | 91 |
| ServiceNow, Inc. (NOW) | S&P 500 | 4.00 | 89 |
| KONE Oyj | Nasdaq Helsinki | 3.99 | 89 |
| Sandvik AB | Nasdaq Stockholm | 3.98 | 88 |
| Castellum AB | Nasdaq Stockholm | 0.11 | 6 |
| Lennar Corporation (LEN) | S&P 500 | 0.45 | 2 |
| Dometic Group AB | Nasdaq Stockholm | 0.69 | 9 |
Source: Clarifo CEO Barometer, company readings for the period ended 30 June 2026.1
What three Nordic CEOs said about demand, word for word
Sandvik: strong demand in mining and machining
Sandvik's President and CEO Stefan Widing wrote in the Q2 2026 interim report:
"Demand in the Mining business remained strong, with organic order intake growth of 11% driven by double-digit growth in the aftermarket business."2
On the next business area, the same review says: "Machining noted strong demand in the quarter and reported organic order intake and revenue growth of 30% and 36%, respectively." Sandvik's index was 88, up 24 points from Q1 2026.
Dometic: a volatile season in recreational vehicles
Dometic's President and CEO Juan Vargues described a weaker market:
"Demand remained volatile during the quarter and market conditions developed weaker than anticipated at the beginning of the season."3
The CEO comments in Dometic's Q2 2026 report open with "We delivered a stable second quarter despite challenging market conditions and weaker consumer confidence, particularly in the U.S." Dometic's index was 9, down 24 points from Q1 2026.
Castellum: a sluggish rental market
Castellum's CEO Pål Ahlsén, after setting out the quarter's net leasing, concluded:
"So, the conditions in the rental market remain sluggish."4
The same page of Castellum's Q2 2026 interim report reports an occupancy rate of 87.5%. Castellum's index was 6, down 24 points from Q1 2026.
The CEO Barometer links each Nordic reading to the page of the report it scored. We opened those pages and copied the sentences on demand exactly as printed. US readings are scored from letters to shareholders in the earnings release; we show their scores here but no quotes.
Read the Q3 2026 CEO reviews as they arrive
Q3 2026 reviews are arriving now: KONE published its January–September 2026 interim report on 28 October 2026. Readings for the quarter will appear on the CEO Barometer as provisional and be confirmed once enough companies have reported. For the financial side of the same season, see Q3 earnings season opens on a high baseline.
In Claude or ChatGPT, our read-only MCP app returns the board and each company's reading:
Using Clarifo, show the CEO Barometer by sector for the latest confirmed quarter, and list the five Nordic companies with the weakest demand reading. Link each to the report page that was scored.
Follow CEO tone by market, sector and company each quarter, with every reading linked to the review it came from.
- Clarifo CEO Barometer, period ended 30 June 2026 (confirmed), sector, market, size tier and company readings, retrieved 28 October 2026: clarifo.com/ceo-barometer.
- Sandvik AB, Interim report Q2 2026, CEO's comment, p. 2: report page.
- Dometic Group AB, Q2 2026 report (Solna, 14 July 2026), CEO comments, p. 2: report page.
- Castellum AB, Interim report Q2 2026, CEO comment, p. 3: report page.
Not investment advice. Figures are based on data reported by the companies.