Apollo and FC Barcelona just proved legacy markets are losing their grip on business

For decades, states like New York and California were the unquestioned centers of economic ambition. If you wanted to build a company, scale a financial institution or anchor a global brand, those were the places to be. That assumption is beginning to change.

The issue is not any single policy. It is the cumulative effect: layers of regulation, rising costs, complex compliance requirements and permitting timelines that introduce uncertainty into basic business decisions. These systems were often built with sound intent. But over time, they have made it harder for companies to move with speed and clarity. At a moment when flexibility and execution matter more than ever, that friction carries a real cost.

In Florida, a different pattern is emerging. I lead the Florida Council of 100, a nonprofit that brings together the state’s top business executives, and our Q1 2026 CEO Economic Outlook Index shows that executives in the state remain significantly more optimistic than their national peers. More important than sentiment, however, is behavior. Across industries, companies are increasing capital investment in facilities, technology and infrastructure. These are long-term decisions. Capital investment reflects where leaders expect opportunity to exist over the next decade, not just the next quarter.

Right now, many of them are choosing Florida. From financial services and technology to healthcare, logistics and advanced manufacturing, companies are expanding their footprint in the state. Those investments extend beyond individual firms. They support construction, strengthen supply chains, and create jobs that ripple across local economies.

In South Florida, particularly along the Gold Coast corridor from West Palm Beach through Miami, investment expectations remain among the strongest in the state. The region continues to attract capital and talent, supported by a business environment that allows companies to operate with greater speed and predictability.

Rather than being the product of any one decision, this trend reflects a broader alignment within Florida between policy and private-sector decision-making. The focus there remains on execution: how quickly a project can move forward, how predictable an investment environment is and how much time companies spend building rather than navigating systems.

Even as expectations moderate in some areas, the overall outlook remains strong. Florida CEOs continue to project growth in both sales and hiring and remain far more confident than their national counterparts. Only 9% expect employment to decline in the next six months, compared with 32% nationally. That gap reflects more than optimism. It reflects a different view of where growth will occur and which environments are best positioned to support it.

The Florida Council of 100 brings together many of the executives making these decisions in real time. When this group signals confidence, it is not theoretical. It reflects capital being deployed and companies choosing where to expand.

Economic leadership is not disappearing from legacy markets. But it is becoming more distributed, shaped by the environments where companies can operate most effectively. Apollo and FC Barcelona made that calculation this week. They won’t be the last.

The opinions expressed in Fortune.com commentary pieces are solely the views of their authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and beliefs of Fortune.

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