More companies missing revenue targets amid AI and geopolitical volatility, Bain & Company survey finds

• Bain's annual survey of over 1,100 global B2B executives across sectors reveals a widening performance gap, as companies remain confident yet underprepared for fast-moving markets
  
  
• While 86% of leaders expected to hit growth targets last year, 42% missed, up from 32% in 2024; still, 91% expect to achieve 2026 goals
  
  
• AI is a growth accelerator, but 60% lack the data foundation or technology to effectively scale AI
  
  
• Only 4% report confidence in having a clearly differentiated value proposition, despite its link to 1.6x faster growth

BOSTON, March 30, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Despite rising confidence and growth ambitions, more companies are falling short of revenue targets as AI disruption and geopolitical uncertainty reshape markets, finds new research from Bain & Company.

Bain's 2026 B2B Growth Agenda report, based on a survey of more than 1,100 senior executives across 18 industries globally, shows that while companies remain ambitious, most lack the AI capabilities and clear value propositions needed to achieve their revenue goals.

Companies expect 20% higher revenue growth rates in 2026 versus last year, with 91% confident they will meet their targets. But in 2025, 86% of executives expected to hit their growth goals and 42% fell short, up from 32% in 2024, highlighting the challenge of adapting to rapidly evolving markets.

"Volatility is now a constant condition for B2B companies, not a temporary disruption," said Jamie Cleghorn, Global Head of Bain's Customer practice. "Leaders are setting high growth ambitions, but many are still operating with commercial models that can't keep pace with how quickly their markets and available technology are changing. The gap between ambition and performance is widening, and closing it requires faster, more adaptive execution and a fundamentally more responsive commercial system."

AI is critical for growth, but most companies aren't capturing its full value

Companies are increasingly turning to AI to accelerate growth, but results remain uneven, Bain's survey finds. While 90% of executives are experimenting with AI, 60% say their data foundation is not robust enough and/or technology isn't ready to scale AI, limiting its impact.

Top performing companies are taking a different approach by redesigning commercial workflows end-to-end, embedding AI into day-to-day operations, and establishing clear ownership and accountability. These organizations achieve twice the AI-driven revenue growth and 1.8x greater cost efficiency than peers.

"While just about every company across industries is experimenting with AI, experimentation alone doesn't drive results," said Rob Stein, a partner in Bain's Customer Strategy & Marketing practice. "Leading companies realize that simplifying and standardizing legacy manual workflows within their go-to-market is the critical first step to ensuring that AI and automation drive a step change in results. Combining process redesign with targeted AI use case development and robust change management efforts is the key to success."

Just 4% of companies have a clearly defined value proposition

Most companies struggle to clearly define why customers should choose them, stalling growth. Only 4% of surveyed executives say their organization has a strong, consistently understood value proposition. Nearly half cite core product or service differentiation as their biggest challenge.

Companies with a clear and consistent value proposition achieved 19% revenue growth in 2025, compared with 12% for those without one. Nearly 40% of revenue and margin leaders cite brand perception as a top factor in winning, retaining, or expanding new customer accounts, underscoring the importance of shaping demand early in the buying journey.

Leading companies not only clearly define their value propositions but constantly test and refine them, increasingly using AI to accelerate these efforts, finds Bain.

Volatility is reshaping commercial priorities across industries

The effects of volatility on growth and strategy vary by industry. Healthcare and life sciences companies are managing sustained pricing pressure, while technology, media, and telecom firms are focused on customer acquisition and retention in fast-changing markets.

Meanwhile, banks highlight sales force productivity and go-to-market technology modernization as critical to navigate macroeconomic uncertainty. And in advanced manufacturing and services, execution pressures are intensifying across the aerospace and defense, logistics, and building products sector value chains.   

Bain's research shows that companies across sectors need a more adaptive commercial playbook, one that can turn market signals into action quickly and consistently and extract value from commercial teams, with AI acting as a key accelerant.

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About Bain & Company

Bain & Company is a global consultancy that helps the world's most ambitious change makers define the future.

Across 65 cities in 40 countries, we work alongside our clients as one team with a shared ambition to achieve extraordinary results, outperform the competition, and redefine industries. We complement our tailored, integrated expertise with a vibrant ecosystem of digital innovators to deliver better, faster, and more enduring outcomes. Our 10-year commitment to invest more than $1 billion in pro bono services brings our talent, expertise, and insight to organizations tackling today's urgent challenges in education, racial equity, social justice, economic development, and the environment. We earned a platinum rating from EcoVadis, the leading platform for environmental, social, and ethical performance ratings for global supply chains, putting us in the top 1% of all companies. Since our founding in 1973, we have measured our success by the success of our clients, and we proudly maintain the highest level of client advocacy in the industry. 

SOURCE Bain & Company