Global B2B companies remain optimistic about growth, yet many are struggling to translate ambition into results. A new industry survey suggests the gap between expectations and actual performance is widening as companies grapple with artificial intelligence adoption challenges and rising geopolitical uncertainty.

Research from Bain & Company shows that a growing share of companies are failing to meet revenue targets despite strong confidence among leadership teams. The firm’s 2026 B2B Growth Agenda report, based on responses from more than 1,100 senior executives across 18 industries worldwide, highlights how technological disruption and volatile economic conditions are reshaping commercial strategy.

The findings reveal a striking contradiction: while 91% of executives believe they will achieve their 2026 growth goals, a growing number missed targets the year before.

In 2025, 42% of companies failed to reach revenue goals, up sharply from 32% in 2024, even though the majority of leaders had expected to succeed.

The results illustrate how quickly market conditions—and the technology shaping them—are evolving.

Confidence Remains High Despite Recent Missed Targets

The survey results show that executive optimism remains strong despite recent setbacks.

Nearly nine out of ten leaders expected their companies to hit growth targets in 2025. Yet the percentage of companies falling short rose significantly compared with the previous year.

According to Bain, companies are projecting 20% higher revenue growth expectations for 2026 compared with last year. Still, the growing gap between expectations and outcomes suggests many organizations may be underestimating the operational changes required to succeed in increasingly dynamic markets.

Industry analysts point to several factors driving the disconnect, including rapid technological change, macroeconomic uncertainty, and shifting buyer behavior in B2B markets.

Jamie Cleghorn, global head of Bain’s customer practice, described volatility as a permanent condition rather than a temporary disruption.

Executives, he said, are often setting aggressive growth targets while relying on commercial operating models that were designed for slower-moving markets.

As technology innovation accelerates and competitive landscapes evolve, companies are finding that traditional sales and marketing systems struggle to adapt quickly enough.

Artificial Intelligence Becomes a Growth Imperative

Artificial intelligence has become one of the most prominent themes in corporate growth strategies.

According to Bain’s research, 90% of surveyed companies are experimenting with AI technologies across functions such as marketing, sales, operations, and customer service.

Yet the results remain inconsistent.

Nearly 60% of executives say their organizations lack the data infrastructure or technology foundation necessary to scale AI effectively.

Without those capabilities, many AI initiatives remain experimental rather than operational.

Leading companies, however, appear to be approaching AI adoption differently.

Instead of deploying isolated use cases, high-performing organizations are redesigning their commercial processes end to end. AI is embedded directly into workflows—from lead generation and demand forecasting to pricing strategies and sales operations.

These organizations report twice the AI-driven revenue growth and roughly 1.8 times higher cost efficiency compared with peers.

The difference, according to Bain researchers, lies in operational integration rather than experimentation.

Companies that treat AI as a core infrastructure capability—not a standalone tool—are better positioned to translate technology investments into measurable business outcomes.

Legacy Workflows Remain a Barrier to AI Adoption

One of the most persistent obstacles to AI adoption is the complexity of legacy business processes.

Many B2B organizations still rely on fragmented systems, manual workflows, and inconsistent data environments.

These operational limitations make it difficult to deploy AI tools that require structured data and standardized processes.

Rob Stein, a partner in Bain’s Customer Strategy and Marketing practice, said companies must first simplify and standardize commercial operations before AI can deliver meaningful impact.

Without that foundation, automation and machine learning technologies struggle to scale.

In practical terms, this means organizations must rethink how their go-to-market teams operate.

Processes such as lead qualification, sales pipeline management, pricing decisions, and customer engagement workflows often require modernization before AI systems can enhance them.

Companies that successfully combine process redesign, targeted AI use cases, and structured change management programs tend to capture the most value from AI initiatives.

A Surprising Weakness: Differentiation

Perhaps the most striking finding in Bain’s research involves competitive positioning.

Despite intense competition across nearly every industry, very few companies believe they have a clearly defined value proposition.

Only 4% of executives surveyed said their organization has a strong, consistently understood value proposition.

For many companies, the challenge lies in articulating how their products or services are meaningfully different from competitors.

Nearly half of respondents cited product or service differentiation as the biggest barrier to growth.

The performance impact of differentiation appears significant.

Companies with a clear value proposition achieved 19% revenue growth in 2025, compared with 12% for those without one.

The findings suggest that strategic messaging—how companies communicate their value to customers—remains a critical driver of growth.

Brand perception also plays an increasingly important role in B2B markets.

Nearly 40% of revenue and margin leaders said brand reputation is a major factor in winning and expanding customer relationships.

That trend highlights the growing importance of demand generation, brand marketing, and early-stage buyer engagement.

Industry Impacts Vary Across Sectors

The challenges facing B2B companies are not uniform across industries.

Bain’s research indicates that different sectors are responding to volatility in distinct ways.

In healthcare and life sciences, companies are dealing with persistent pricing pressures and regulatory constraints. Organizations in these sectors are focusing on operational efficiency and innovation to maintain margins.

Technology, media, and telecommunications companies face a different challenge: intense competition and rapidly evolving customer expectations. These organizations are prioritizing customer acquisition and retention strategies while investing heavily in AI and digital platforms.

Meanwhile, financial institutions—including banks—are emphasizing sales productivity and modernization of go-to-market technologies to remain competitive in uncertain economic conditions.

Industrial sectors such as advanced manufacturing, aerospace, logistics, and building products are also experiencing growing operational complexity.

Global supply chains, geopolitical risks, and fluctuating demand patterns are forcing companies in these industries to rethink commercial planning and execution.

The Bigger Picture: A New Commercial Playbook Emerges

The findings from Bain’s research reflect a broader shift in how companies approach growth.

Traditional sales and marketing strategies were designed for relatively stable markets. Today’s environment, however, is defined by rapid technological change, geopolitical uncertainty, and increasingly sophisticated buyers.

To adapt, organizations must develop more flexible commercial operating models.

These models rely heavily on data analytics, AI-driven insights, and agile decision-making frameworks.

Industry analysts at Gartner and Forrester have similarly noted that B2B organizations are investing heavily in advanced analytics and AI-enabled revenue platforms.

The goal is to create systems capable of translating real-time market signals into actionable strategies.

Companies that succeed in this AI transformation often focus on three priorities:

• modernizing commercial technology stacks
• embedding AI into everyday decision-making
• strengthening brand differentiation and customer engagement

Together, these capabilities allow organizations to respond more quickly to changing market conditions.

As Bain’s research suggests, companies that combine strategic clarity with operational agility are more likely to outperform peers in volatile environments.

Top Insights

• Bain & Company’s 2026 B2B Growth Agenda report finds 42% of companies missed revenue targets in 2025, highlighting a widening gap between executive growth ambitions and market realities.

• While 90% of organizations are experimenting with AI, nearly 60% lack the data infrastructure and technology foundations needed to scale AI effectively across operations.

• Companies embedding AI directly into commercial workflows report twice the AI-driven revenue growth and 1.8 times greater cost efficiency than peers.

• Only 4% of surveyed executives say their organization has a clearly defined value proposition, a factor strongly correlated with faster revenue growth.

• Growing geopolitical uncertainty and technology disruption are forcing companies across industries to rethink traditional commercial strategies.

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