Quarterly highlights from the Trendsetter survey show that differences persist between fast-growth private companies doing business abroad and their domestic only peers.

	International marketers	Domestic-only peers
Business outook, next 12 months	(n=118)	(n=163)
Revenue growth rate	20.5%	17.1%
International sales (% of total)	16%	N/A
Planning major capital investments	36%	32%
Planning expansion to new markets abroad	28%	7%
Planning new strategic alliances	38%	31%
Plans to increase spending
New products/services	53%	24%
R&D	32%	14%
Sales promotion	40%	30%
Prior quarter's performance
Increased gross margins (net)	7%	16%
Increased costs (net)	26%	16%
Increased prices (net)	12%	19%

Note: International marketers have average revenues of $56.6M and their domestic-only peers have average revenues of $39.5M

Key findings include:

• Uncertainty about the economic outlook grew. A growing number of CEOs were either uncertain or pessimistic about the 12-month outlook for both the US and world economies. Only 45 percent reported they are optimistic that the domestic economy will grow over the next 12 months, a 19 point decline from the prior quarter – and the lowest level of optimism for the survey in more than four years.

• Revenue growth expectations, while still high, softened. The panel lowered their own-company revenue targets for the next 12 months. They now project an average revenue growth rate of 18.6 percent, off from the prior quarter’s 21 percent.

• The outlook for new investments and new hiring also slowed somewhat. Fewer (34 percent) plan for major new investments of capital in the next 12 months, off 7 points from the prior quarter and 9 points from a year ago. Mean investments as a percent of sales is now expected to be 11.6 percent compared to 13.8 percent the prior quarter and 12.5 percent a year ago. While 72 percent plan to add employees over the next 12 months, the average planned additions dropped from 10.4 percent the prior quarter to 8 percent, which is still above the 7.6 level of a year ago.

• Concerns about softening demand and the availability of qualified workers remain high. Sixty-three percent report they are concerned about future demand, which is up 11 points from the prior quarter but on par with a year ago. Consistent with the entire year, about half of respondents remain concerned about a lack of qualified workers.

In sum, while fast-growth private firms show continued strength overall, they are reporting increasing uncertainty about the US and world economies, have decreased their revenue growth expectations, and show signs of softening their plans for new investments and hiring over the next 12 months.

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