Money | GDP New GDP Numbers Fall Well Short of Forecasts Fourth-quarter growth revised down to a sluggish 0.7% By Newser Editors and Wire Services Posted Mar 13, 2026 8:45 AM CDT Copied A person shops at a grocery store in Schaumburg, Ill., Monday, Feb. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh, File) The US economy advanced at an unexpectedly sluggish 0.7% annual rate from October through December, the Commerce Department reported Friday in a big downgrade of its initial estimate. Growth in gross domestic product—the nation's output of goods and services—was down sharply from 4.4% in last year's third quarter and 3.8% in the second, per the AP. And the fourth-quarter number was half the government's first estimate of 1.4%. Economists had expected the revision to go the other way and reflect growth of 1.5%, per CNBC. For all of 2025, GDP grew 2.1%, solid but down from an initial estimate of 2.2% and from 2.8% in 2024 and 2.9% in 2023. In the fourth quarter, consumer spending grew at a 2% clip, down from 3.5% in the third quarter and the 2.4% the government had initially estimated. Business investment, excluding housing, increased at a healthy 2.2% pace, likely reflecting money being poured into artificial intelligence, but the increase was down from 3.2% in the third quarter and from the 3.7% advance in the Commerce Department's initial estimate. Exports fell at a 3.3% annual rate in the fourth quarter, a bigger drop than the government first estimated. Friday's GDP was the second of three estimates of fourth-quarter growth. The final report is due April 9. Read These Next Trump just fired Pam Bondi. Hegseth forces out Army's chief of staff. Woman found 32 years after vanishing 'without a trace.' Travelers will likely cheer at this new advice from airports. Report an error