"The continued rise in CEO confidence is strong evidence of a turnaround in corporate performance," said Lynn Franco, director of the Conference Board's Consumer Research Center. "This is also indicated by an improvement in capital spending plans."

Chief executives' assessment of current economic conditions has become considerably more favorable, with the measure rising to 64, up from 55 in the second quarter, according to the report. The increase was caused by a sharp rise in the percentage of CEOs stating that current economic conditions have improved: 60 percent in the third quarter versus 35 percent in the previous quarter. Close to 36 percent of survey participants say conditions have improved in the third quarter, up from nearly 33 percent in the second quarter.