Reference News Network reported on April 26 that according to a report from the Financial Times website on April 24, American enterprises are taking stock of the costs brought by Donald Trump's trade war. Corporate executives have warned that this will lead to rising expenditures, supply chain chaos, and impact the largest global economy.
Although corporate executives usually avoid publicly criticizing the U.S. President, in this month's quarterly earnings conference calls with analysts, they were forced to confront Trump's tariff measures.
Companies in transportation, energy, telecommunications, and residential construction are discussing tariffs with Wall Street. When expressing their opinions, corporate executives issued warnings about the consequences of Trump's comprehensive tariff increases and reminded of the risk of economic recession like economists.
Steven Pudie, head of credit research at Western Trust Management Company, said: "CEOs are really not in a good mood right now."
According to sources, during a meeting held at the White House recently, the CEOs of Walmart and Target both warned Trump to pay attention to the impact of his imposed tariffs on trade.
Data shows that as of the 22nd, although less than one fifth of the blue-chip companies of the S&P 500 index had held their first-quarter earnings conference calls, more than 90% of these calls mentioned tariffs. 44% of the conference calls mentioned the word "recession"; compared to less than 3% of the fourth-quarter earnings conference calls in 2024.
Norfolk Southern Corporation, a major U.S. rail freight group, said on the 23rd that tariffs may slow down the transportation of automobiles and multi-modal containers, while coal production activities may cool down "amid significant uncertainty in exports."
John Ketchum, CEO of New Era Energy, the largest electric utility company in the U.S., said on the 23rd that tariffs would push up the price of gas generators, while electricity demand in the U.S. is growing at a speed "not seen since the end of World War II."
GE Renewable Energy, a manufacturer of gas turbines, said its costs could increase by up to $400 million this year. Oilfield service companies Halliburton and Baker Hughes warned that Trump's trade war could erode corporate profits, disrupt supply chains, depress oil prices, and lead to reduced drilling activity.
The stock price of Baker Hughes fell sharply on the 23rd. The company previously stated that tariffs could reduce its EBITDA by up to $200 million this year.
The two largest telecommunications groups in the U.S., AT&T and Verizon Communications, warned that tariffs could raise the prices of mobile phones and wireless routers.
Verizon Communications CEO Hans Vestberg told analysts this week: "If the tariffs on mobile phones are as high as they say, we do not intend to bear this cost. It is impossible."
The stock price of Procter & Gamble, a consumer goods producer, fell 5% on the 24th. The company previously lowered sales and profit expectations due to the impact of tariffs and slowing consumption in the U.S. and Europe. PepsiCo also mentioned tariffs and economic uncertainty when lowering profit expectations.
Boston Scientific Instruments, a medical device manufacturer, said that despite raising its profit outlook, tariffs will cost the company about $200 million this year. Johnson & Johnson did not adjust its annual profit forecast last week but pointed out that costs related to medical device tariffs would reach $400 million.
William Brown, CEO of 3M, said: "Tariffs will be a negative factor this year." This tape and sticky note manufacturer said it would mitigate the impact through various means, including transferring production and inventory within its network of 110 factories and 88 distribution centers, cutting costs, and raising prices.
Brown said: "We are trying to respond to the impact in a very smart, strategic, and precise way."
Ryan Marshall, CEO of builder PulteGroup, said tariffs would increase the average price of each new home by about $5,000.
Marshall told analysts: "Whether due to stock market volatility, concerns about tariffs triggering inflation, interest rate fluctuations, or increasing talk of an economic downturn, demand in April has become more volatile and increasingly difficult to predict."
Raytheon Technologies, an aerospace and defense company, said that if Trump's tariffs continue until the end of this year, the company's pre-tax operating profit could be reduced by $850 million. General Electric-Aerospace said it would raise prices to help offset about $500 million in additional costs.
Corporate executives have been struggling to adapt to rapidly changing U.S. trade policies.
The Financial Times reported on the 23rd that Trump plans to exempt automobile manufacturers from some tariffs.
Pudie of Western Trust said that as trade policies change, CEOs are entering a kind of "dormancy." "They don't know whether they will wake up six months later to find themselves in a completely new world order or feel that this was just a terrible nightmare." (Translated by Guo Jun)
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