Expectations for future business growth
The International Business Report (IBR) considers nine indices related to the growth expectations of surveyed professionals for the next 12 months.
During the third quarter of 2025, most of these indexes in Argentina did not show variations greater than 7 percentage points (pp). Only two variables were exceptions:
- The index reflecting the expectation that Sales Prices will rise in the next 12 months. This index increased by 18 percentage points, reaching 55%.
- The Profitability index, which fell by 16 pp to 38%.
Without undergoing dramatic variations, the growth expectations for Income, Employment, and Profitability were among the leading indexes in this group, reaching values of 59%, 43%, and 38%, respectively.
Expectations for future business investment intentions
The IBR considers seven indexes representing the investment expectations of surveyed executives for the next 12 months. During the third quarter of 2025, there were no significant variations in Argentina.
It is worth noting that two of these seven indexes increased, while the rest decreased. Of the five that decreased, four experienced the most significant changes. The index for expected investment in Plant and Machinery decreased by 10%, and the index for expected investment in sustainable initiatives decreased by 9%.
The three investment indices with the highest values were expectations for Investment in Technology (51%), Staff Skills (45%), and Research and Development (32%).
Constraints to business growth
Regarding the variables measuring expectations of constraints to business growth, the International Business Report surveys 17 variables. In Argentina, during the second quarter of 2025, 9 out of 17 indices showed variations of 10 percentage points or more. However, during the third quarter, only three of these indexes experienced such changes:
- The index reflecting the expectation that lead-times and costs of shipping and/or delivery will be a limitation for businesses rose by 16 percentage points to 36%.
- The index reflecting the expectation that the availability and cost of raw materials and other inputs for production processes will become a limitation in the next 12 months rose by 15% to 37%.
- The index reflecting the expectation of labour costs as a limitation for the next 12 months fell by 14 percentage points to 25%.
Beyond these variations, the three indices reflecting expectations of limitations to business growth during the third quarter of 2025 were Economic Uncertainty, which reached 62%; the existence of Regulations and red tape at 50%; and Energy Costs at 46%.
Expected Salary Changes
The IBR measures two indexes related to salaries. During 2024, the expectation of real salary increases in Argentina rose from 9% to 12%. During 2025, this index went from 19% to 7%, reaching 29% by mid-year. In the third quarter, it fell by 22 percentage points.
The rate of the index measuring the expectation of nominal salary increases in Argentina went from 79% to 77% throughout 2024. During 2025, the index rose from 71% to 82%, reaching 91% by mid-year. In the third quarter, it fell by 9 percentage points.
The Argentine Perspective
Since the second half of 2023, in addition to the questions asked to all respondents in more than 35 economies, the International Business Report includes three questions related to the local context, posed only to executives from the 76 organisations surveyed in Argentina.
1. Decision-making and influencing factors
The first question asks which factors are most relevant when making executive decisions. During the third quarter of 2025, the inflation rate (45%) continued to top this list of factors. The monetary exchange rate ranked second (26%), followed by the financial interest rate and the required salary increase indexes in their industry (11%), and their own profit margin at (8%).
2. Talent attraction and retention strategies
The second question seeks to explore the main strategies companies use to attract and retain their collaborators. During the third quarter of 2025, executives pointed out that offering training and career development plans was their main strategy (61%), with monetary rewards as the second option (41%). These were followed by health and mental health programmes (39%), salaries above the market rates (20%), extra leave/free time (18%), and employee benefits programmes at 11%.
3. Corporate message
The third question relates to the communication messages companies reinforce within their teams during times of uncertainty. 38% of Argentine executives prioritise communicating the organisation’s commercial success; 26% prioritise communicating the value of the collective and collaborators’ know-how; 22% prioritise communicating the company’s financial stability amid uncertainty. Finally, 13% believe that communicating the expertise and know-how of the organisation’s leaders should be prioritised.
