Christian Mueller-Glissmann, head of asset allocation research at Goldman Sachs, says the wave of AI-driven earnings surprises that boosted stocks last earnings season will be difficult to replicate. While companies are expected to exceed forecasts, the bar is set high for this earnings season, and investors will be closely watching company outlooks and executive commentary for signs of further equity growth, Mueller-Glissmann says.

Private-equity firms face a nine-year backlog of unsold portfolio companies, driven by investor concerns about artificial intelligence's impact on the software industry, according to a PricewaterhouseCoopers analysis of PitchBook data. The backlog has grown to about 13,500 companies, with almost 4,000 held for six or more years. While fundraising remains steady, the number of funds raising capital has declined. The initial public offering market shows signs of revival, with private-equity firms taking 16 companies public in the first half of the year, raising $10.1 billion.

Summary: The SEC released its 2026 Regulatory Flexibility Agenda, outlining planned rulemaking across digital assets, public company disclosure, broker-dealer regulation and market structure. The agenda includes "Regulation Crypto," a proposed crypto-specific rulemaking, as well as potential amendments related to broker-dealer capital, custody and recordkeeping rules; exchange rules; executive compensation disclosures; emerging company compliance burdens; and semiannual reporting for public companies. The full agenda is available on Reginfo.gov.

CFOs face the challenge of funding growth while protecting margins, often needing to back new products that take time to become profitable. To manage this, CFOs can use benchmarks for time to profitability, set payback periods before investing, test assumptions, use stage gates, and generate demand early. The American Productivity & Quality Center reports a median time to profitability of 15 months, with top performers achieving it in 10 months.

The cryptocurrency industry is preparing for the threat posed by quantum computing, which could potentially break the cryptography securing digital assets. Quantum computers, capable of solving complex problems much faster than current computers, pose a significant risk to blockchains that rely on decades-old elliptic-curve cryptography. Bitcoin is particularly vulnerable due to its long history of transactions. While some companies are already planning to upgrade to quantum-resistant cryptography, the transition could take years and may introduce new vulnerabilities if done prematurely.

Hiring and compensation in the finance and accounting sector are expected to increase, according to a Controllers Council survey, with 38% of respondents planning to increase hiring, up from 24% last year. However, 61% of respondents report talent shortages, up from 46% last year, particularly for roles requiring leadership and technical expertise.