CEO INSIGHTS – Week Ending 1 August 2025

Gold Mining & Governments

"A trend of rising costs is evident in the global gold sector, including in West Africa, driven by a range of factors, not the least of which is a steady increase in royalties and indirect charges payable to host governments…In other words, as the price of gold rises, so too do expectations by host governments and host communities of an increasing share of the higher gold prices." Market Statement, Perseus Mining Ltd

Tariffs & Inventory

"As expected, the second quarter continued to be impacted by competitors stockpiling Asian imports into the U.S...We are confident in our long-term strategy and believe that evolving tariff policies will ultimately support domestic manufacturers." Marc Bitzer, CEO, Whirlpool Corp.

Formwork & Construction

"Importantly, the lead indicators for FY26 are encouraging, particularly for the second half of FY26 and we are confident in the continued momentum of the business." Steven Boland, CEO, Acrow Ltd

Labour Markets & Startups

Freelancer has historically capitalised on such [uncertain macro] environments, thriving as businesses shift from permanent employment toward flexible talent solutions. Simultaneously, challenging job markets traditionally stimulate increased startup activity and freelance participation, further strengthening Freelancer’s marketplace dynamics.” Market Statement, Freelancer Ltd

“If we have more flexibility and better output for labour, we’re able to get better wages and costs under control, which ultimately drives prosperity.” Ryan Stokes, CEO, SGH Ltd

Lithium

“It's a very volatile environment.” Antonino Ottaviano, CEO, Liontown Resources Ltd

Nuclear Power Plants

“Australia is not likely to be able to repeat the UAE experience [delivering nuclear power plants within a 12 year timeframe] because our level of consultation will be consistent with our higher level of democracy and the experience of other Western democracies. As such, at least 15 years remains the most plausible lead time.” Market Statement, CSIRO

Off-Roading Vehicles & Rockets

"Consumers are still looking for a deal. I think interest rates being high doesn't help. While we do see promo easing a bit in the second half, I don't think it's going to be anything significant." Michael Speetzen, CEO, Polaris Inc.

Space is hard. SpaceX, Rocket Lab and others needed multiple test flights to reach orbit. We’ve learnt a tremendous amount that will go directly into improving our next vehicle, which is already in production.” Adam Gilmour, CEO, Gilmour Space Technologies [Australian aerospace company that is developing hybrid-propellant rocket engines]‍

Branding & Shoplifting

"Look, I think one of the most important things you do with a consumer-facing company is making sure that the brand is perceived to be valuable." Brian Niccol, CEO, Starbucks Corp.

“Retail crime is a growing national challenge, with rising incidents of theft, aggression, and organised crime affecting the safety and viability of retail workplaces.” Market Statement, Australian Retailers Association

Luxury & China

"Regarding China, what we see is that the general economic environment still creates a low consumer confidence. Currently, the rate of saving is very high. The stimulus that has been created have been very specific for certain sectors, and we don't know when they will have an effect on the consumption of luxury goods." Francesca Bellettini, Deputy CEO, Kering S.A. [multinational luxury holding company of brands inc. Gucci and Balenciaga]

Weather

"Strong trading in April was followed by softer conditions in May and June in part due to adverse weather impacts." Market statement, Experience Co. Ltd

Banking & Payments

“I think there's a big opportunity for banks around the world to play a more direct role in money movement. When we're sitting and talking to our bank partners around the world, they often recognise that a lot of their users are leaving their bank app and maybe going to another fintech or another money movement platform to send remittances for example. And they view that as a lost opportunity.” Ryan McInerney, CEO, Visa Inc.

Chocolate

“So the way I would describe it is that we will have a chocolate category whereby the price will have gone up 30% to 50% in the last 2 years. And what we see is consumers are staying in the category, but they're diminishing their frequency, and they're diminishing the quantity bought. So we expect that after all the price increases -- and even if cocoa comes down, I'm not expecting that it will come down enough for us to see significant price reductions in chocolate.” Dirk Van de Put, CEO, Mondelez International Inc. [parent company of brands such as Cadbury and Toblerone]

Business & Technology

“Again, demand in that space is outpacing consumer demand. And that's really true across our full Logitech for Business portfolio.” Johanna Faber, CEO, Logitech International S.A.

AI Expectations Vs. Reality

At a high level, I think that there are all these questions that people have about what are gonna be the timelines to get to really strong AI or superintelligence or, you know, whatever you wanna call it. And I guess at each step along the way so far, we've observed the more kind of aggressive assumptions or the fastest assumptions have been the ones that have most accurately predicted what would happen.” Mark Zuckerberg, CEO, Meta Inc