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Digital EditionGeopolitical Tensions Now Limit Business Growth for 90% of Executives, Beazley Finds
Ninety percent of executives surveyed in July 2026 agreed that geopolitical tensions and economic uncertainty are limiting their business growth plans, up sharply from 78% in January 2026 and 68% in January 2025, according to Beazley’s Risk & Resilience survey.
The specialty insurer’s research, which polled 3,500 global business leaders, also found that 82% agreed political change is affecting their ability to trade profitably, up from 76% at the start of 2026. Beazley said the findings reflect how quickly geopolitical volatility, including conflict, tariffs, trade tensions and marine chokepoint disruptions, has eroded the cautious optimism that accompanied easing inflation and interest rate cuts earlier in the year.
Dependencies Become Strategic Vulnerabilities
Beazley’s report said reliance on cloud infrastructure, payment networks, satellites, undersea cables and GPS systems is creating new forms of concentration risk, with disruption to any one system capable of cascading through supply chains, communications and financial transactions.
Governments are increasingly treating these systems as strategic assets rather than neutral infrastructure, the report said, citing examples including the U.S. CHIPS and Science Act, the European Union’s proposed Chips Act 2.0, and sovereign cloud initiatives in Germany and France. China’s control of roughly 70% of the world’s critical mineral processing capacity, reinforced by export restrictions introduced in April 2025, has further underscored how access to resources now carries geopolitical weight, Beazley said.
The report noted that reshoring, sovereign cloud strategies and the energy transition often relocate risk rather than remove it. Moving data does not eliminate reliance on cloud infrastructure, and the energy transition trades dependence on fossil fuels for reliance on critical minerals, grids and water, according to Beazley.
The report pointed to Iran’s March 2026 naval blockade and attacks on helium plants as an example of this dynamic, with the resulting production disruption removing roughly one-third of global helium supply in a single day and affecting industries from semiconductor and A.I. chip manufacturing to health care. Iran’s subsequent closure of the Strait of Hormuz in June 2026 further disrupted fertilizer costs, energy-intensive manufacturing and chemical supply chains worldwide, the report said.
Supply Chains in Flux
Beazley found that 77% of surveyed businesses plan to change their suppliers or supply chains over the next 12 months because of rising geopolitical tension. The report said businesses are increasingly prioritizing optionality over the traditional supply chain focus on cost, speed and consistency, diversifying suppliers, markets, manufacturing locations and trade routes.
However, Beazley cautioned that diversification does not eliminate risk, as alternative sourcing can still depend on the same concentrated processing hubs or shipping chokepoints.
Maritime risks have evolved alongside these pressures. Beazley’s report highlighted an August 2026 episode in which 80% of traffic through the Strait of Hormuz conducted “dark transits,” switching off tracking systems to avoid detection before reappearing elsewhere. The report also cited a cyberattack on a commercial tanker that disrupted operational technology and triggered a communications blackout, calling it evidence of a shift from data theft toward operational sabotage at sea.
Economic Uncertainty and Workforce Strain Intensify
Economic uncertainty has overtaken other risk categories, with 41% of executives ranking economic slowdown, inflation, recession or sovereign debt among their top three risks, up from 34% in January 2026, Beazley said. Cybersecurity concerns, including systemic attacks and third-party infrastructure outages, were cited by 44% of executives as a top-three concern, up from 37% in January.
Meanwhile, 91% of executives said risks such as recruiting talent, employee retention and mental health challenges concern their business, up from 76% in January 2026, a jump Beazley attributed to sustained operational pressure and complex decision-making environments created by ongoing disruption.
Despite elevated risk levels, Beazley’s report found that perceived resilience has rebounded across every risk category since 2023, particularly for war, terrorism and inflation risk. The report cautioned that this confidence itself could become a vulnerability if it leads firms to underestimate the scale and interconnected nature of the risks they face, stating that in today’s environment, resilience “must be tested, not assumed.”
Obtain the full report here. &
