Which form to use and when?

English as a Second Language English Vocabulary, Grammar and Idioms
1
  1. The future of this company looks fine.
  2. The future of this company’s looking fine.

Which of these two forms of the lexical verb look one should use and when?

Thanks

2

Both are possible in that context.

3

The issue is understanding the difference between, and respective use, of the Present Tense and Present Progressive.

The Present Tense simply states a fact that the speaker asserts is truth. Note also, there are no time boundaries in Present Tense. When we say, “The Sun rises in the east”, questions like, but when did it first start to ‘rise in the east’? When will that end – when will it stop rising in the east?, are irrelevant – it is sufficient that it is currently TRUE. We are not interesting in 'when did this first start to be TRUE? - when will it stop being TRUE?
In the business world, it seems a bit complacent to simply state that a company’s future is looking fine. Markets shift and change, customer likes and demands can change very quickly.
Hence, the Present Progressive “company is looking fine” or its contraction, “…company’s looking fine”. One of the uses of the Present Progressive is to suggest something is temporary, limited in time. The next sentence would show this:
“The future of this company’s looking fine. However, we must continue to monitor the market, and during this phase of company expansion, be prepared for any downturn in the economy.” That is, at the moment, the company’s future is looking fine, but things in the market place could change, and we must react quickly to meet any challenges to continued company prosperity."