Quarterly Trend Report: What CEOs Talked About in Q4 2025

A 60-page report on the trends that emerged in Q4 2025 earnings calls. The report is based on data of 115,000+ earnings calls of US-listed companies from Q1 2019 through Q4 2025.

The Quarterly trend report: What CEOs talked about in Q4 2025 is part of IoT Analytics' ongoing coverage of the IoT and related technology markets. The information presented in this report is based on a database of 115,000+ earnings calls of US-listed companies from Q1 2019 through Q4 2025. Every quarter, IoT Analytics analyzes trends emerging from earnings calls and presents findings for the most recent quarter. The purpose is to inform other market participants about the current focus of CEOs and companies. To ensure objectivity, IoT Analytics did not alter or supplement any results and did not deliberately exclude any earnings calls.

Key rising themes in Q4 2025

• AI
• AI bubble
• US government shutdown

Key declining themes in Q4 2025

• Tariffs
• Uncertainty

Sample preview

5 critical questions for CEOs

1. Are we negatively affected in case the "AI bubble" bursts?

AI mentions hit a peak of ~47%, but bubble fears are rising. Validate that investments focus on infrastructure and long-term value rather than hype and check for potential abrupt project cancellations in case data center or related investments come to a halt.

2. Are we prepared for another U.S. government shutdown in January?

Shutdown mentions surged to 17%, becoming a fast-growing risk even as tariff talks dipped to 35%. Assess exposure to government contracts and potential hits to consumer confidence.

3.Are we preparing for the shift from Generative to Agentic AI?

NVIDIA identifies "Agentic AI" as a brand-new category. Shift roadmaps from simple content generation to agents capable of executing autonomous tasks.

4. Does our infrastructure account for sovereign cloud demands?

EMEA data center discussions have surpassed North America's. Assess if cloud strategies meet the "super big" demand for sovereign data handling in Europe.

5 Are we capitalized to ride the IT sector's growth wave?

Business sentiment is up, with IT projected to grow 15.4%. Pivot sales strategies toward high-growth sectors and away from contracting industries like Energy.

Questions answered

• How is the overall economic environment in Q4 2025?
• What are some of the upcoming trends that CEOs talk about?
• What keywords were most prevalent in the earnings calls in the last quarter?
• What are the key themes that CEOs discuss related to the main keywords?
• Which themes have lost importance in the last few years?
• What are upcoming trends in different sectors?
• How did the sentiment change in earnings calls in Q4 2025?