 Uniform negative curvature and global maximization

If a twice differentiable real function on $\mathbb{R}$ satisfies $f^{\prime \prime }(x)\le -c$ for some fixed $c>0$, then it has a unique global maximum. The mean value theorem shows that $f^{\prime }$ is strictly decreasing, and that $f^{\prime }(x)+cx$ is nonincreasing. Hence $f^{\prime }(x)\le f^{\prime }(0)-cx$ for $x>0$ and $f^{\prime }(x)\ge f^{\prime }(0)-cx$ for $x<0$. These inequalities force opposite derivative signs at the two ends. The intermediate value theorem supplies a unique zero of $f^{\prime }$, at which $f$ changes from increasing to decreasing. Merely having $f^{\prime \prime }<0$ does not guarantee existence: $f(x)=-e^{-x}$ is increasing and approaches its unattained supremum zero.