The confidence of Spanish companies about their evolution in 2025 is well above the European average, driven by the good prospects regarding the behavior of exports and national sales. The degree of confidence of companies regarding the evolution of their business in 2025 shows a positive balance of 15.4 points, compared to the average for the European Union (4.1) and the euro zone (2.9). This is reflected in the 32nd edition of the Business Perspectives Survey, prepared by the Spanish Chamber of Commerce in collaboration with Euro Cámaras, based on the opinion of 1,765 national companies out of a total of 42,000 participants throughout Europe.
This optimism is driven, above all, by the good performance of exports, with a balance of 36.8 compared to a balance of 6.2 for European companies, and in national sales, where Spanish companies have a balance of 20, 1 compared to the 8.9 scored by European companies. “For the rest of the variables analyzed, employment and investment, the positive balances are moderate, although higher than those recorded at European level,” highlights the organization. National companies expect employment to increase by 3.2 and European companies by 1.2, while the investment remains in last place with a balance of 1.4 compared to the 0.1 reported by Europe.
The old continent expects contained growth in activity in 2025, since all balances are positive but they are not high. However, this is a positive step given that it represents an improvement compared to the 2024 survey. “The expectations of European companies about the progress of their businesses has improved compared to last yearas far as sales are concerned, both nationally and abroad. In particular, in national sales the net balance has increased from 7 to 8.9 and in exports the balance has gone from 4.3 to 6.2. That is, an increase of 1.9 percentage points in both cases,” highlights the analysis. On the other hand, the framework worsens in terms of job creation and investment for all European companies. “The balance of Employment has decreased from 3 to 1.2, while the investment balance has gone from 0.6 in 2024 to 0.1”.
In the comparison between countries, Portugal stands out for being the place where businessmen expect a better year for their businesses. The Portuguese country leaves a positive balance of 47 points and adds 8 compared to the previous year. They are followed by Türkiye and Montenegro, which have 45 and 38 points respectively, while at the other end the economic slowdown in Berlin is noticeable. The companies of Austria, Germany and Serbia They are the most pessimistic with negative balances of -15.4; -11.3 and -8.8 points.
However, the truth is that the expectations raised a year ago have not been met in the case of many Spanish companies. “The greatest differences have been observed in exports, where the balance of expectations was 35.2, while the balance of results has reached 9.7” underlines the Chamber. However, the difference is also significant with respect to national sales, where the result was 2.1 compared to the 21.2 that had been projected at the beginning of the year.
Conditioned by labor costs
Three out of every four companies surveyed (72.6%) believe that labor costs will be the biggest determinant of their activity in 2025, after the new increase in contributions and awaiting a new increase in the SMI. The shortage of personnel, which translates into an increase in salaries due to competition, will also be a brake for 48% of those surveyed, six points more than last year. And it adds to the administrative burdens.
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