Welcome to the Experian Thought Leadership Hub

The U.S. economy continues to surprise with its resilience - growth forecasts are improving, equity markets are hitting new highs, and fears of an imminent recession are fading. Joseph Mayans’ Vision 2025 session, “Navigating 2026: Global Macro Shifts, U.S. Credit Trends and the Evolving Lending Landscape,” explored the economic forces shaping the next year - from the AI-driven equity boom to structural vulnerabilities in the white-collar labor market. His key takeaway: while AI innovation is fueling growth and optimism, it also introduces new dependencies and risks that will define the next economic chapter.

Highlights:

• The AI Trade’s Dominance: Economic optimism is increasingly tied to the AI investment cycle—AI spending fuels stock gains, which in turn sustain higher-income consumer spending.
• Potential Vulnerability: Overreliance on AI-driven growth leaves the economy exposed if those massive investments fail to deliver expected productivity gains.
• Labor Market Shifts: AI is intensifying existing white-collar labor market imbalances—more graduates, fewer roles, and increasing automation pressure.
• Credit Market Implications: Rising white-collar vulnerability poses a growing risk for prime credit segments, especially if economic momentum slows.
• Future Readiness: As Sol Rashidi emphasized, humans’ edge lies in creativity and critical thinking—skills that should be strengthened, not outsourced, to AI.

The U.S. economy shows signs of steady growth in Q3, yet challenges remain. A cooling labor market and persistent inflation create uncertainty, prompting lenders to stay cautious while adapting. Even in this dynamic environment, growth opportunities continue to emerge across the industry.

First-party fraud is notoriously difficult to separate from credit risk — but first-payment default (FPD) can be the key to earlier, more accurate fraud detection.

Key insights:

• What makes first-party fraud and credit risk so difficult to separate (and so costly to misclassify).
• Why FPD is the strongest, most reliable indicator of first-party fraud.
• Actionable takeaways for businesses to combat first-party fraud.

The fintech landscape is evolving rapidly—and 2025 is a pivotal year. Experian’s State of Fintech 2025 Report delivers exclusive insights into the market forces, consumer behaviors, and credit trends shaping the future of financial services. Learn how leading fintechs are adapting and where the next wave of growth is emerging.

In this report, you’ll discover:

• How fintechs are regaining market share in unsecured personal loans
• The impact of rising delinquencies and student loan repayments
• What Gen Z and Millennial borrowers expect from digital lenders
• 7 strategic imperatives to scale responsibly in a volatile market

Experian surveyed product, fraud and credit risk leaders across 10 countries to understand where underwriting is headed. The takeaway is clear: it’s evolving to be frictionless, embedded and nearly instant.

In this report, you’ll discover:

• How credit underwriting is expected to evolve by 2030
• The primary forces driving these changes
• Key takeaways to help your business lead into the next decade

2025 has presented a new wave of challenges for workers and employers to navigate. From immigration policy changes and federal employment cuts, to growing AI capabilities, reduced hiring and job creation revisions, we have seen new dynamics evolve this year that will likely continue to impact the labor market going forward.

The Q3 Labor Market Monitor tracks data from a variety of sources to shed light on these dynamics and gives readers a more comprehensive view of the job market.

The latest Jobs Report casts doubt on the Fed’s (and many economists’) narrative that the labor market is on solid footing. New data now show that job creation is near stall speed and other areas of the economy are slowing as well. This data, combined with a growing view that the impact of tariffs on inflation will neither be as significant as first anticipated (though still meaningful) nor as persistent, is likely to lead the Fed to cut rates at their September meeting. Get the latest on these trends, plus our new Fed rate cut forecast in Joseph Mayans' latest Macro Moment, "Rate Cuts Incoming."

The pace, scale and complexity of data breaches are accelerating — and even the most prepared organizations aren’t immune. What sets leaders apart is how quickly and effectively they respond. Our 2025-2026 Data Breach Response Guide can help you strengthen your readiness, limit damage and recover faster. 

Gain insights into: 

• Key trends in data breach types and attack vectors 
• Industries most impacted by breach activity 
• Step-by-step guidance for preparing and executing a breach response 
• How Experian can support your breach preparedness and notification efforts

Experian’s tenth annual Identity & Fraud Report unpacks the major trends reshaping identity, fraud, and digital trust in 2025. Based on insights from over 2,000 U.S. consumers and 200 business leaders, this year’s findings offer a clear-eyed view of what’s driving concern, where expectations are shifting, and how organizations must evolve to stay ahead.

Key takeaways include:

• Fraud is growing—and changing fast: Nearly 60% of U.S. businesses report higher fraud losses in 2025, driven by more sophisticated attacks and legacy security gaps.
• Trust is earned, not assumed: Only 13% of consumers feel fully secure opening new accounts—yet 40% say strong identity experiences build trust.
• AI is both a weapon and a shield: 72% of businesses expect AI-generated fraud to be a top challenge, even as more invest in AI to fight back.
• Consumer fears remain high: Identity theft (68%) and stolen credit card data (61%) top the list of consumer concerns—for the second year running.