A majority of regional executives expect business conditions to improve or stay about the same in the fourth quarter, but a significant percentage — more than 40% — expect the economy to worsen.
That’s according to the fourth-quarter CEO Roundtable Executive Survey, conducted by BizWest. The quarterly survey focuses on C-level executives in the Boulder Valley and Northern Colorado. BizWest conducts CEO Roundtables in both areas, with executives gathering to discuss trends, opportunities and challenges within their industries.
About 34% of respondents expect business conditions to remain about the same in the fourth quarter, with 25.3% expecting improvement and 40.5% anticipating worsening conditions.
“The economy is stuck and stagnant, leading to fewer projects,” said one respondent.
Only 17.7% of respondents said that business conditions are better than six months ago, with 38% saying they have worsened, and 44.3% saying conditions are about the same.
Three-quarters of respondents said tariffs would negatively affect their business operations, with 16.5% describing them as having a very negative impact, and 58.2% saying tariffs would have a somewhat negative impact. About 21% said tariffs would have no effect and 1.3% said they would have a somewhat positive impact. An additional 2.5% of respondents said tariffs would have a very positive impact.
Most respondents, 63.3%, expect staffing levels to remain about the same, with 13.9% expecting a moderate increase, 2.5% a strong increase, 19% a moderate decrease and 1.3% a strong decrease.
Similarly, capital expenditures are expected to remain flat for about half of respondents, with 50.6% anticipating no change, 22.8% expecting a moderate decrease, 10.1% expecting a strong decrease, 15.2% a moderate increase and 1.3% anticipating a strong increase.
Among other considerations for regional executives:
• Minimum wage: New minimum-wage requirements at the state, county or local levels are having no effect on 68.4% of respondents, with 24.1% describing it as having a somewhat negative effect, 6.3% very negative impact and 1.3% somewhat positive impact.
• Housing availability: 57.6% of respondents said that housing availability was having a negative impact on their employees, with 39.7% describing it as somewhat negative and 17.9% viewing it as very negative. Respondents who viewed housing as having no effect on their employees totaled 39.7%. About 2.6% of respondents said that housing availability was having a very positive impact.
• Construction of new facilities: About 20% of respondents said their companies might require construction of new facilities, with 1.3% having definite plans, 1.3% somewhat likely, 15.2% considering one or more projects, 25% already under construction and 79.7% not at all likely.
• Office-space requirements: Almost two-thirds of respondents — 63.3% — anticipate no change in office-space requirements in 2025, with 1.3% expecting a strong increase, 11.4% a moderate increase, 5.1% a strong decrease, 10.1% a moderate decrease and 8.9% responding “Not applicable.”
Respondents hailed from a variety of industries, including agribusiness, banking and finance, brewing, business services, construction, government, health care, life sciences, manufacturing, natural products, nonprofits, outdoor industry, real estate, renewable energy, traditional energy and technology.
BizWest’s CEO Roundtable program is sponsored by Plante Moran and Berg Hill Greenleaf Ruscitti LLP in the Boulder Valley and Northern Colorado. Bank of Colorado sponsors the program in the Boulder Valley, and Elevations Credit Union sponsors in Northern Colorado.
Respondents were asked the greatest challenge or opportunity facing their business or organization in the fourth quarter. Among the responses:
• “State laws and regulations are driving out residential real estate investors. Property valuations, laws, regulations, and emission standards are hurting commercial real estate investors along with their tenants, resulting in vacancies and/or substantial decrease in net income!”
• “Unpredictable capital markets.”
• “My clothing manufacturer can not hire and retail skilled labor because of immigration and workforce shortages. I’m unable to replace inventory in a timely and cost-effective way.”
• “Taxes, insurance and HOA fees have skyrocketed. We own our unit, but at this point it would be cheaper to rent elsewhere. Unfortunately, selling a commercial space right now is nearly impossible.”
• “Gov shutdown. It will affect gov grant funding notifications as well as current disbursements.”
• “I’m in the mortgage business. The greatest opportunity is new products coming into the market. The greatest challenge is excessive regulation from the Obama years, specifically Dodd-Frank and media lies.”
• “Municipalities need to get involved in reducing costs if they want to increase affordable housing.”
This article was first published by BizWest, an independent news organization, and is published under a license agreement. © 2025 BizWest Media LLC.
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