Of the 10 Optimism Index components, seven increased and three decreased. Earnings trends improved, but were offset by a deterioration in expected business conditions.
Bill Dunkelberg, Chief Economist at NFIB said: “Inflationary pressures continue to be a challenge for Main Street. While small business optimism is currently fragile, the benefits of the Working Families Tax Cut Act should start to feed into the private sector over the next few months.”
US NFIB Small Business Optimism Index
Since 2025, the two biggest drops in the index have been caused by Trump’s trade war in April 2025 and Trump’s war on Iran in March 2026. So much for being “the President for Main Street and not Wall Street”.
